Sugar pumpkins are a small, sweet variety of the famous round orange squash synonymous with autumn. They fall into the hardier winter squash family (unlike lighter summer squash like zucchini) filling bins and tables at all the markets and grocers this time of year. Cooking with winter squash can be very rewarding or very disappointing, especially with the simpler dishes like soup. Larger pumpkins, which are ideal for carving jack-o-lanterns are best left on the porch and out of the kitchen. They have a bland and stringy flesh that doesn’t really taste that pumpkiny. Butternut squash is one of the best options for flavour, they are also orange but their flesh is velvety smooth, sweet and very flavourful.
Butternut Squash
Sugar pumpkins are the solution to these issues, combining the best of both worlds without any of the negatives. They have the nostalgia of pumpkins with a sweeter and stronger flavour that will not disappoint. Plus their flesh is more tender and their skins are less rough and ridged, making them easier and faster to prep. There is one caveat though- I have found that the ones from small farms are regularly superior in flavour to the ones I have gotten at supermarkets and larger grocers. While this is a common theme among most fruits and vegetables, since smaller producers take the luxury of letting the produce ripen on the vine until at its peak and choose breeds for flavour over maximum yield and hardiness for transport, it is especially noticeable with vegetables like pumpkin that can have such variance in quality. If the seasonal ritual of visiting a local pumpkin patch has seemed too childish, do it for the flavour and don’t be afraid to get a little dirty, food turns out best when there is some fun and play involved in its preparation.
Sugar Pumpkins
The best pumpkins are vibrant and fairly uniform in colour, except for a lighter circular spot near their base where they rested on the ground. They should feel heavy but sound hollow if you knock on it. Nutritionally they are a great source of fiber and many antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
The seeds can be saved and roasted or saved for next spring to start your own patch.
Since these pumpkins are delicious on their own I didn’t add much to the soup. I started off with the base that I depend on for nearly all soups and sauces- an onion, celery stalk, carrot and clove of garlic, a traditional combination that adds an important first layer of flavour. Some cumin adds a slight smokiness that compliments the sweetness of the pumpkin. It’s a nice spice to use for cold weather comfort food, especially for healthy dishes featuring squash and/or yams. A bay leaf amplifies all the other flavours and is another staple I always like to include in soups.
- 2 sugar pumpkins (12 cups once peeled and diced)
- 1 onion, chopped finely
- 1 carrot, chopped finely
- 1 celery stalk, chopped finely
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 4 cups broth
- 1 bay leaf
- Optional toppings:
- hazelnuts or pecans
- spice blend like za'atar or duke
- Cut the pumpkins in half and scoop out the seeds. Use a vegetable peeler or long, thin knife to cut off the skin then use a large knife to cut the flesh into small pieces, around the size of dice.
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add in the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and cumin and sautée until softened and fragrant, around 5 minutes. Add in the pumpkin, broth and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and leave to simmer for 20 minutes, until the pumpkin is cooked through and the flavours have had time to come together. Remove the bay leaf and blend until smooth using an immersion or regular blender. If using a regular stand-up blender just do a bit at a time, if it is filled too much with hot liquid it will shoot out the top and make a big mess.
- Serve hot and store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days or freezer for a couple months.
For the serving I topped the soup with some hazelnuts and a sprinkle of za’atar, an Egyptian spice blend, for some texture differentiation and extra bursts of flavour. Roasted chickpeas or plain Greek yogurt are two of my other favourite less conventional but very nutritious toppings.
