Serves 4 • Prep: 20 minutes + 15 minutes cooking time
Ingredients for Pumpkin Soup with Chestnuts
14oz (400g) red kuri (hokkaido) squash, butternut squash, or Musque de Provence pumpkin
7oz (200g) soup vegetables (such as 3½oz (100g) celery root or two celery ribs and ½ leek; no carrots)
1 white onion
1 apple
7oz (200g) precooked chestnuts
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 sprig thyme
3½fl oz (100ml) white wine
5¼ cups vegetable broth
¼ cup shredded medium aged
Alpine cheese
freshly ground salt and pepper
How to make Pumpkin Soup with Chestnuts
1 Peel the squash (unnecessary for red kuri), cut in half, and scoop out the seeds. Using a sharp knife, cut into ¾in (2cm) cubes.
2 If necessary, peel the vegetables and chop into small pieces. Peel the onion, cut in half, and slice. Peel the apple, quarter, remove core, and slice. Chop the chestnuts coarsely.
3 Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat; add the squash, vegetables, onion, and apple. Season with salt, pepper, and curry. Cook for 5 minutes, covered, over low heat. Add thyme and cook another 5 minutes, covered; add chestnuts and deglaze with white wine. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. 4 Season to taste and portion into soup plates; sprinkle with shredded Alpine cheese and serve.
Tip: A butter curler works even better than a spoon to remove the seeds from the squash—it’s also a great tool for carving Halloween pumpkins.
Variation: For a clear wild mushroom soup, replace the squash with cubed potatoes and the chestnuts with 9oz (250g) wild mushrooms. Clean the mushrooms and quarter or slice larger ones. Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil over high heat and sauté the mushrooms for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the finished soup, bring to a boil, and let sit for a few minutes before serving.
