Spicy pumpkin cream soup

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1 medium-sized onion(s), finely chopped
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 ½ kg pumpkin(s), (butternut)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 garlic clove(s), squeezed
• 1 tsp ginger, finely grated
• 1 pinch(s) nutmeg, or chili powder or cinnamon
• 800 ml vegetable stock
• 200 ml cream
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 6 hours; Total time approx. 6 hours 25 minutes

a recipe for a 3.5 liter crock pot / slow cooker

First, sauté the onion with the butter over medium heat until translucent. Let it cool slightly and then add it to the crock pot. Wash and trim the butternut squash (remove seeds and fibers, and trim the ends), and cut it into roughly cube-sized pieces. The skin doesn’t need to be removed, as it will soften during cooking and can be eaten. I would just remove any unsightly parts with a potato peeler. Now add the sugar, garlic, and ginger to the pot with the onions and fill with the pumpkin cubes. Press the cubes down slightly. The pumpkin cubes should reach about 2-3 cm below the rim. Pour the vegetable stock over everything so that the pumpkin is just covered. Cooking time is approximately 5-7 hours on HIGH, depending on the appliance and the size of the pumpkin cubes. Lift the ceramic inner pot out of the appliance, place it on a heatproof surface, and let it cool for a few minutes. Purée the contents with an immersion blender until smooth. Then whisk in the cream and season the soup with salt and pepper. Keep warm in the crock pot on LOW until ready to serve. Tip: If you don’t have a butternut squash, you can also use a Hokkaido squash. The skin doesn’t need to be removed from the Hokkaido squash either. However, it has a slightly more intense flavor and a firmer texture.