Pumpkin Soup with Apples and Red Peppers

I love soup. It’s soothing, easy to eat, and easy to digest, a perfect start to a meal or a light meal unto itself.  I often make pumpkin soup in the fall out of fresh pumpkins from my local farmer’s market. I usually buy a small sugar pumpkin, bake it in the oven for an hour or so, seed, peel and cut up the flesh. Canned pumpkin is an acceptable substitute, but I prefer the flavor and texture of fresh pumpkin.

This soup is made with fresh pumpkin, canned coconut milk for richness, roasted red peppers for additional color and savory flavor, and apples for sweetness. It’s seasoned with thyme and cinnamon, an unlikely duo that blends well with the pumpkin, apple and red pepper.

Cinnamon and thyme are both strong flavors, so use them sparingly. Cinnamon complements the pumpkin and apple, and thyme blends well with the savory note of roasted red peppers. Coconut milk binds all these flavors together into a rich, multi-textured soup.

Springhouse Turtle Eats

Print Recipe

Pumpkin Soup with Apples and Red Peppers

By Springhouse Turtle – Serves: 6-8

Prep Time: 30 minutes – Cooking Time: 25 minutes – Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 cup bottled roasted red peppers
• 2 apples, cored and chopped (I use Gala apples)
• Thyme
• Cinnamon
• 1 2-3 pound sugar pumpkin, cooked, seeded, peeled and cut up (see NOTE)
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 cup water

Instructions

1

In a large saucepan with a lid, heat the oils until they shimmer.

2

Add the onions, dust with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and sauté until translucent, about 3-5 minutes.

3

Stir in the roasted red peppers, and cook for 5 minutes.

4

Add the apples, dust with a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of dried thyme, and cook for 5 minutes, until the apples begin to soften.

5

Stir in the pumpkin and 1/8 teaspoon thyme and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon.

6

Add the coconut milk and water. Stir until blended.

7

Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

8

Purée the soup using an immersion blender, or transfer to a regular blender.

9

Return the soup to the pot and heat through.

10

Pour into bowls, and serve immediately garnished with a few fresh thyme leaves or chopped parsley.

Notes

NOTE: Fresh pumpkin is easy to cook. Wash and dry the pumpkin. Prick the top with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape. Put the pumpkin on a baking sheet, and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Remove from oven, let cool, cut in half, and scoop out the seeds. Peel the pumpkin, and cut up the flesh. Save the seeds for roasting.

Melt olive and coconut oils in a deep saucepan with a lid.

Sauté chopped red onions in the hot oils until they’re translucent.

Stir in the red peppers and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the chopped apples, dust with cinnamon and thyme and cook for 5 minutes.

Stir in the pumpkin and season with more cinnamon and thyme.

Pour in a can of coconut milk and a cup of water. Stir until blended, cover and cook for 25 minutes.

Pour the soup into a blender, or use an immersion blender to purée the soup until thick and creamy.

Pour the soup into bowls, garnish with a few leaves of fresh thyme, and serve immediately.

Springhouse Turtle Eats