Pumpkin soup with apricots, ricotta and dark chocolate

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 pumpkin(s) (Hokkaido)
• 2 shallots
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 200 g apricot(s), dried
• 1 small red chili pepper(s)
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 lemon(s), zest + juice
• 200 g ricotta
• some chocolate, 75% cocoa
• some oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes

spicy and hot with a little chili

Finely dice the shallots and garlic clove. Finely dice the chili pepper (amount to your liking). Grate the lemon zest and squeeze half a lemon. Finely chop the dark chocolate so that there is enough to sprinkle over all four plates. Halve the Hokkaido pumpkin, scoop out the seeds with a tablespoon, then cut the pumpkin into eighths. You can safely eat the Hokkaido skin; that’s the beauty of this pumpkin. Place the pumpkin eighths in a baking dish, drizzle with a little oil, and scatter the finely chopped garlic cubes and some of the finely chopped chili pepper over them (if you don’t like the heat, you can also sprinkle some chili pepper over them instead of the chili pepper). Place the baking dish on the oven rack at 180°C for about 20 minutes, until the pumpkin wedges are soft. Meanwhile, finely dice the shallots and apricots and sauté them in a saucepan with a little oil over medium heat. Dice the cooked pumpkin and add it to the pan. Season with lemon juice and a little lemon zest, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of sugar. If you want it spicier, add a few more chili cubes to taste. Pour in hot water until everything is just covered. Simmer for another 10 minutes, then puree the soup with an immersion blender or in a blender until smooth and creamy. To serve, divide the soup between 4 plates and place a tablespoon of ricotta in the center of each plate. Sprinkle each plate with finely chopped dark chocolate and serve immediately. Tip: You’ll notice the chili’s spiciness—but the cold ricotta immediately *defuses* it, transforming it into the fruity sweetness of the apricots. As the icing on the cake, the bitter note of dark chocolate completes this “flavor explosion.”