Cozy Fall Carrot and Pumpkin Creamy Soup

So, a few days ago i made a classic pumpkin purée, and then came the big question: what do you do with all that pumpkin cooking water? Well… you make a delicious soup, a creamy carrot and pumpkin soup! It’s no work at all, and you end up with a super aromatic soup. You just throw the veggies into the same pot, cook for about 15 more minutes, and that’s it, done!

And of course, if you don’t have the same veggies, use whatever you’ve got in the kitchen. Some that go perfectly with pumpkin are potatoes, carrots, onions, chestnuts, mushrooms, ginger, cauliflower, celery, corn, eggplant, endive, fava beans and radishes too. Some make it sweeter or creamier, others bring a nice contrast.

A few other things that go great with pumpkin, and you can stir them in at the end or just sprinkle them on top: allspice, curry powder, nutmeg, pumpkin seeds, chopped nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans), fried bacon, tamarind, blue cheese, gorgonzola or sour cream. I only put a drizzle of olive oil on mine, but honestly that was more for the photos hahaha, that day I just didn’t feel like adding a swirl of cream, sour cream or a few seeds. No big deal, the soup was smooth, creamy, sweet, and perfect for a cold day, and a yes of course a delicious way to use up that pumpkin cooking water. Let’s get to the recipe.

Cozy Fall Carrot and Pumpkin Creamy Soup

Servings: 3
Time: 30mins
Difficulty: Easy
Rating: ★★★★★
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A simple and budget-friendly soup made with leftover pumpkin cooking water and a few more veggies, easy and absolutely delicious.

Ingredients

Water – From Cooking Pumpkin
Carrots – 3
Celery – 1/3 of a Stalk
Potato – 1
White Onion – 1
Garlic – 2 Cloves
Olive Oil – A Drizzle
Salt – A Pinch

Directions

Start by washing and peeling the vegetables, then cut everything into small cubes so they cook faster.

Place all the vegetables into the water used to cook the pumpkin, add a bit more water if needed, season with a pinch of salt, and cook over medium-low heat for about 18 to 20 minutes, or until everything is tender.
Blend everything using an immersion blender until you have a very smooth cream. Taste and adjust the amount of water and salt to suit your preference for both seasoning and consistency. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil or any of the suggestions I mentioned above. Enjoy!

Notes & Tips: You can use this same idea with the cooking water from all kinds of veggies. For the water from cooking proteins like meat or fish, it depends on the type of protein, whether the water was skimmed, and whether it was seasoned. So sometimes yes, other times it’s better to use it as a base for rice or something similar.

No pumpkin cooking water? No problem. Cook a few chunks of pumpkin or butternut squash with the veggies and use plain water or a low-sodium vegetable broth.

Go easy on the salt at the start. Pumpkin water is sometimes already seasoned, so taste at the end and then adjust.

The potato is the secret to a thicker, creamier texture without any cream. Want it thicker still? Use less water. Want it thinner? Add a splash at a time while blending.

Cut the veggies small and even so they cook at the same time and blend without any lumps.

For a little crunch, toast pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet or in the oven at 175ºC (350ºF) for a few minutes, then sprinkle them on top. Or some cubbed bread toasted into croutons.

This recipe for Cozy Fall Carrot and Pumpkin Creamy Soup was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Creme de Cenoura e Abóbora foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.