Squash Soup In Pumpkin Bowl

A hot, seasonal, tasty treat! It can be served as a hot appetizer or as an entrée for cold winter days. This is a healthy, low fat, vegetarian soup to melt your taste buds. Pumpkin is known to keep you young and make you feel good, so, this season, it is a must.

Ingredients

For the Bowl

• 1 large baking pumpkin
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• Kosher salt

For the Soup

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 small chopped onion
• Kosher salt
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 medium butternut or kuri squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)
• Freshly ground pepper

For the Toppings

• Pepitas
• Sourdough
• Paprika or Spanish pimenton
• Crisp prosciutto, serrano ham or bacon
• Fried onions
• Fried sage or parsley leaves

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Use a paring knife to cut a large circle around the stem of the pumpkin (you could also make a zigzag cut, to make it look a bit more interesting). Remove the lid and scoop out the seeds and fibers. Sprinkle the inside with 1/2 teaspoon each sugar and salt. Place the pumpkin and lid on a baking sheet; roast until tender, 20 to 35 minutes, depending on the size.
2. The soup: Melt the butter over low heat. Add the onion and 1 teaspoon salt. Strip the thyme leaves into the pot, increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, which will take about 5 minutes. Add the squash and sugar. Cook and stir, until it’s glazed, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 5 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, until it becomes tender, for about 15 minutes.
3. Put the soup into a blender and puree until smooth; return to the saucepan. Stir in the heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper.