Roast Pumpkin Soup with Gruyère
Is it even acceptable to still be talking about pumpkin? Is that only an October-November “thing”?
I know it’s the middle of December and most people have moved on from pumpkins to chestnuts and peppermint, but pumpkins are in season Fall-Winter, and by golly, you know I will milk that for all its worth!
How amazing does this soup look? I love the look of an entire pumpkin filled with bubbly cheese and tender chunks of bread. This is such an impressive-looking dish, and yet, you won’t believe how simple it is to make! Seriously, all you have ego do is throw a bunch of ingredients into a pumpkin and pop it in the oven. The hardest part? Cleaning out the gooey pumpkin guts. It’ll be Halloween jack-o-lantern carving all over again, except the end result will be warm, comforting soup instead of a candle-lit face carved into a gourd—better outcome, in my opinion 😉
This would make a gorgeous dinner party offering; you could bring the entire filled and roasted pumpkin to the table, and have everyone scoop out their own servings.
Let’s talk a little about the flavor of this soup, because it’s pretty incredible. Of course no one can resist melty cheese, but that’s not even the best part. The broth gains a certain depth and richness after roasting in the pumpkin and melding with all the spices and butter. It might just be the most soothing broth I’ve eve tasted—one spoonful seems to melt any worries or stress from the day away. The breadcrumbs and cheese kind if disintegrate while cooking, adding a wonderful texture to the soup. I think I ate this for a week straight—every day—after I made it, and then I mourned it’s loss after it was gone. Yes, this soup even makes awesome leftovers. To store any extra, simply ladle all of the broth (and cheese goodness) into a large tupperware, and scrape all of the flesh out of the pumpkin and it to the broth; cover and refrigerate!
Ingredients
- 6 to 8 pound cheese pumpkin (or Cinderella or Jarrahdale)
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 heaping tsp hot paprika
- salt and pepper
- 5 to 6 ounces gruyère cheese, shredded
- 1 heaping cup fresh bread crumbs (made by quickly pulsing a few hunks of crusty bread in the food processor)
- 3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 to 3 dried bay leaves
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 3 to 4 cups chicken stock
- 3 to 4 cups vegetable stock
- fresh thyme, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut a wide circle around the stem of the pumpkin to make a lid. Remove it and scrape off any strings or seeds. Scoop all of the strings and seeds out of the inside of the pumpkin and discard. Place the pumpkin in a large roasting pan.
- Grind the fennel seeds in a coffee or spice grinder.
- Rub all over the inside of the pumpkin with the butter. Sprinkle the insides with the fennel seeds, paprika, salt, and pepper. Add in the cheese, breadcrumbs, garlic, bay leaves, and wine. Add in the stocks to come within a couple inches of the pumpkin's rim. Cover with the lid.
- Roast for 1 hour. Remove the lid and place it, flesh-side up next to the pumpkin in the roasting pan. Continue to roast for 45-90 minutes more, until the flesh is soft and easily pierced with a knife.
- To serve, ladle the broth into bowls and top with flesh scooped out of the sides or bottom of the pumpkin. Garnish with fresh thyme and season with more salt and pepper, as necessary.
Notes
recipe adapted from here
Since I can never get enough pumpkin, I’d like to know what your favorite pumpkin recipe is!
This looks like a great recipe. I am going to make it for Christmas dinner, but I will use Trader Joes pumpkin, which is grown organically in Oregon. Do you know how much canned pumpkin you'd aim for?
Thanks!
Hi Kim!
I'm not sure that the recipe would turn out using canned pumpkin. I REALLY wouldn't recommend it, especially because canned pumpkin (even organic!) is often made using butternut squash instead of pumpkin, or a pumpkin not as flavorful as a Cheese, Jarrahdale, or Cinderella. The rich flavor from the soup comes from roasting everything together inside of the pumpkin.
You can get organically grown pumpkins at your local farmer's market, Whole Foods, or even Trader Joes! 🙂