Coconut & Curry Pumpkin Soup

The sun is streaming through my windows on this crisp, blissfully bright fall morning. I love Sunday mornings. The expectation that church is coming and family dinner follows always warms my heart, even when the weather starts to chill me up. There's nothing like awaking after having had a Saturday evening filled with laughter and endless conversation. For the homebody in me, sitting around with hot chocolate, tea and good friends far exceeds any evening "out". Last night was truly memorable.

This pumpkin soup took two days to come together but that's only because I was running errands, attempting to buy a Keurig and struggling to figure out how to make my own pumpkin puree. Did I mention my first attempt at softening a pumpkin so it's easier to cut consisted of putting a "fork pricked" pumpkin into the microwave for five minutes only to find that within two minutes of cooking shards of pumpkin skin and pulp had exploded in the microwave? Cleaning that was fun!

I love coconut anything and also deeply appreciate the warming properties of this soup. Garam masala creates a warm, earthy flavor, while yellow curry infuses a bright, fragrant flavor. The pumpkin mellows this soup, while light coconut milk marries it all together.  This soup is like marriage - it takes two complementary personalities (flavors: garam masala and curry) and blends them together into something better than what you started with.  If you don't have garam masala, it'll be fine without it.

TIPS:

• Canned plain pumpkin is a great substitute for fresh.
• If you don't have garam masala or don't want to purchase it, use 2 1/4 t of yellow curry powder.
• Here are links for roasting pumpkin:
• In the oven.
• In the microwave.
• To cut the impossibly hard pumpkin, using a paring knife, make slits in the pumpkin (make sure to cut all the way through the pumpkin skin and flesh). Put whole pumpkin on a heat safe plate and microwave for 5 minutes or until soft enough to cut.
• If you've roasted your own pumpkin, garnishing your soup with pumpkin seeds adds a nice flourish and crunch. Here's how. Store bought pumpkin seeds also works and is easier.

THE RECIPE:
Makes 4 servings
Prep time (if using canned pumpkin, approx 40 mins)

Ingrediants:
2-3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion (any onion will do) - small dice
2 gloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
3 c low sodium chicken stock (canned is fine but it you're a rock star, homemade stock is fab)
2 t yellow curry powder (I used World Market)
1/4 t garam masala (I used Savory Spice Store's blend)
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c pumpkin puree (I made fresh but plain canned pumpkin puree is fine too)
1 T honey
1/2 c light coconut milk

Directions:
Using a soup pot, pre-heat your pot over medium-low heat while you're prepping the onion and garlic (about 3-5 minutes). Dice you onions and smash two garlic cloves. Reduce the heat to low and add onion and garlic. Cover and cook on low (low simmer) for 5 minutes. Add curry powder, garam masala and salt to pot. Stir. Cook for 1 minute. Add 2 cups of stock, cover and increase heat to medium. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add pumpkin and honey. Stir to combine. Add additional 1 cup of chicken stock if soup is too thick. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and using an immersion blender, blend the soup to desired consistency (I left mine partially chunky.) Mix in coconut milk, warm on the stove until heated though and voila! To plate (totally optional), add a swirl of coconut milk and some pumpkin seeds or oyster crackers. You're ready to eat.

Quick note - I'm not endorsing any spice brand blends, I listed what I used because I often wonder the exact flavor nights a recipe creator used. You can use whatever you like.