Mexican pumpkin soup with minced meat

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1,200 g Hokkaido pumpkin(s), weighed pitted
• 300 g potatoes, floury
• 500 g minced beef
• 500 g bell pepper(s)
• 1 can of corn, approx. 300 g
• 2 onions
• 1 small bottle(s) of salsa
• 1 cup whipped cream
• salt and pepper
• e.g. broth or water and granulated broth

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 2 hours

Simple and hearty – pumpkin soup with a twist

First, wash the pumpkin thoroughly, halve it, remove the seeds and stem, and chop it into large pieces. Peel the potatoes and cut them into similar pieces. Peel and quarter 2-3 onions, then place them in a pot along with the pumpkin and potato pieces. The pot should be quite large, as the other ingredients must fit in it later. Fill with broth until the vegetables are almost covered, bring to a boil, and simmer. While the vegetables are simmering, brown the ground beef in a large pan until crumbly and season with salt and a little pepper. Cut the bell peppers into small pieces and add them to the ground beef along with the corn, without draining them completely. Cook on low heat. When the vegetables are very soft, remove from the heat and puree in the pot, adding the cream. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more broth. It is important to remove the pot from the heat, as otherwise you could burn yourself from the bubbling while it boils. After puréeing, add the entire contents of the pan to the vegetable soup in the pot. Then add the salsa sauce. Depending on the consistency, you can add a little more broth. Finally, season the soup to taste. When heating or reheating the soup, stir frequently and use a low heat, as it thickens quite quickly. Tips: I personally only make this soup with granulated broth and water, which makes seasoning much easier. I only use about two-thirds of the contents of a 500 ml bottle of salsa. This soup is great to prepare in advance, but I recommend stirring in the salsa fresh, as otherwise it loses some of its fruitiness.