Schrat's fine pumpkin soup

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 750 g pumpkin flesh (muscat or Hokkaido)
• 1 shallot(s), finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
• 10 g ginger, finely diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 150 ml white wine
• 400 ml chicken broth
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 2 tbsp pumpkin(s) (sweet and sour pickled)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp curry powder (Madras or Mumbai)
• 250 ml cream
• 30 g butter
• Balsamic vinegar (Crema di Balsamic vinegar), bianco
• Salt
• Cayenne pepper
• Nutmeg, freshly grated
• 4 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 50 g carrot(s)
• 50 g celeriac
• ½ stalk(s) leek
• 250 ml oil for frying

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour

Dice the pumpkin flesh. Heat olive oil in a saucepan, sauté the shallot, garlic cubes, and ginger until translucent. Add the pumpkin cubes and thyme sprigs and sauté. Deglaze with white wine and top up with chicken stock. Add the pickled pumpkin and honey, dust everything with curry, and bring to a boil. Add the cream and simmer the soup in a covered pan over low heat for about 10 minutes, until the pumpkin cubes are soft. Remove the thyme sprigs from the soup. Purée the soup, pass it through a fine sieve, and season with balsamic vinegar, salt, cayenne pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg. Return to the heat but do not boil. Melt the butter in it and blend the soup with a hand blender until frothy. Roast the pumpkin seeds in a non-stick pan over medium heat without fat until they begin to smell aromatic. Ladle the soup into bowls or cups, place the pumpkin seeds in the center, and serve. Another clever way to serve this soup with fried vegetable strips is to look good and taste good. Cut the vegetables into very fine strips, each 5-6 cm long, and fry them briefly in hot oil until lightly browned. Remove the strips from the oil with a slotted spoon and let them drain on a few layers of kitchen paper. When serving, place a small heap in the center of each plate or cup. If serving as an appetizer or as a starter for a meal, this amount is enough for 8 people.