Mums and pumpkin and gourds – oh my!
Yup, it’s fall at the farmers market.
I love seeing the seasonal change of produce at the market. As the seasons transition into another, you never know what you may find. But you know a sure sign that it’s officially transitioned to fall? Pumpkins!
Once upon a time ago I thought they were only good for pumpkin pie. I know – crazy right? In fact, I distinctly remember the first time I had it in a savory dish. It was -what seems a lifetime ago – when I worked in the travel industry. I was in Barbados having dinner. First course – pumpkin soup. Yup. And I’ll admit, I was disappointed. You know why? Because I thought it was going to be a sweet soup. Oh boy was I wrong.
Instead of sweetness, this soup had layers -layers of flavor I never knew existed. First it was a little salty, then a little sweet, then a little spicy, then a little salty – I think you get the idea. I couldn’t believe how delicious this soup tasted! It was beyond anything I could imagine.
That was the moment my whole view of pumpkin changed.
Fast forward many years later. Despite that amazing experience, I rarely eat it. Why? No idea. I like it, in fact I like it a lot. But somehow I always seem to forget about it. Silly right? So time to experiment!
And boy oh boy did I discover a nutritional powerhouse! Did you know that it can help lower blood pressure, help you sleep better, help you see better and help you lose weight? Maybe that’s why Linus wanted a visit from the Great Pumpkin.
Okay, so I’m not going to lie. I cheated. For this recipe, I used canned pumpkin. Why? I wanted to make this easy. But that’s okay. Can you guess the ingredients in my canned pumpkin? Pumpkin. Yup, that’s it. So if you want to cheat a little to, go ahead – use the canned version, just make sure there’s only one ingredient in that can.
So I tried to recreate similar flavors of that soup I remembered so fondly. I think it was pretty successful. It’s a little salty, a little sweet and little spicy. Hope you enjoy.
What savory ways do you use pumpkin?
- 15 oz canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 1 tsp ginger minced
- 1 cup coconut milk full fat
- 1 tsp curry powder
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp cayenne
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 cup vegetaable stock or broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- Heat saucepan and add coconut oil when hot.
- Add garlic and ginger and let brown for a minute, be careful not to burn.
- Add canned pumpkin, curry powder, cardamom, and cayenne. Stir together.
- Then add coconut milk and stir to combine. Add vegetable stock.
- Heat and simmer for about 20 minutes to let flavors develop. Be careful not to burn.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Optional: Top with a dollop of yogurt and some sliced green onions and toasted pumpkin seeds.