Pumpkin soup with orange juice and ginger

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 m.-large Hokkaido pumpkin(s)
• 1 m.-sized carrot(s)
• 1 handful of celery
• 1 large onion(s)
• 3 cm ginger
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1,000 ml vegetable broth
• 500 ml orange juice, as mild as possible
• 200 ml cream or coconut milk
• ½ tsp, leveled paprika powder
• 1 pinch of chili powder or cayenne pepper, ground
• 2 pinches of salt
• 1 pinch(s) of pepper
• 1 small piece(s) of butter or clarified butter
• Pumpkin seed oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

Peel the onion, carrot, ginger, and garlic and chop into pieces. Remove the seeds from the pumpkin and chop roughly. Put a saucepan on the stovetop, melt the butter, and sauté the onion. After about 3-4 minutes, add the pumpkin pieces, vegetables, and ginger. Pour in the stock, orange juice, and cream or coconut milk, add the paprika, and simmer for about 25 minutes. Puree everything until finely ground (using a hand blender, or sieve if desired). Season to taste with salt, pepper, and chili. If desired, drizzle with a little pumpkin seed oil before serving. If you have some and like, you can also sprinkle some roasted pumpkin seeds on top. Simply toast them in a pan and finish with cinnamon and sugar, if desired. (Also delicious as a snack.) A few Kracherle (white bread cubes toasted in a pan with olive oil) are also a great addition for a change, as a small garnish. If the soup is intended as a main course, you can add shrimp or even Wienerle (a kind of sausage). The coconut milk version works better with shrimp, while the “classic” version uses chopped Wienerle. If there’s a little leftover, I throw in some toasted walnuts or cashews and blend it all again. This makes a delicious pumpkin pesto for pasta.