Pumpkin soup with apple, chili and ginger

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 onion(s)
• 2 apples
• 600 g pumpkin flesh, e.g. butternut or nutmeg pumpkin
• 1 piece(s) ginger, about thumb-sized
• 1 red chili pepper(s)
• 1 sprig(s) thyme, fresh
• Sea salt
• White pepper, freshly ground
• 300 ml water or vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche
• Pumpkin seed oil
• Pumpkin seeds, peeled
• possibly chili powder

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

Peel and dice the onion, peel, core, and dice the apples. Peel, core, and dice the pumpkin. Peel and finely dice the ginger. Deseed and finely chop the chili pepper. Wash the thyme, pat dry, and remove the stems. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the diced onion and apple, and sauté. Add the pumpkin, ginger, chili, and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Pour in water or stock, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, dry-roast the pumpkin seeds in a pan until they begin to “pop” in the pan. Set aside. Purée the pumpkin with a hand blender. Stir in the crème fraîche and season the soup with salt and white pepper. Season with dried chili, if desired. If the soup is too thick, add hot water or stock until the desired consistency is reached. Ladle the soup into soup bowls, add a few drops of pumpkin seed oil, and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds. We usually serve it with bread, either pumpkin seed bread or I bake cornbread.