roasted red pepper and pumpkin soup

don’t be fooled by it’s hard exterior, the delicate meat of a pumpkin actually cooks down relatively fast. it’s natural sweetness and starchiness makes it an ideal ingredient for a soup. the roasted red bell pepper adds a smoky component. you really have to char the heck out of it. if you don’t have a propane stove, then you’ll probably have to skip roasting the red pepper. this recipe works well with either pumpkin or butternut squash. you will need a regular blender or an immersion (hand held) blender to puree the ingredients into a soup.

1 medium pumpkin about 2 lbs (1kg)
1 large red bell pepper
heavy cream 1/2 cup (120 ml)
chicken stock 1 cup (240 ml)
water 1 cup (240 ml)
butter 1 tbsp
garlic 2 cloves chopped
shallot 1 chopped
salt 1/2 tsp
lemon juice 1 tsp (optional, but recommended to brighten up the flavor)

• place the red bell pepper on top of a stove burner, completely blacken and char
• once evenly charred, cover the bell pepper in a sandwich bag (or plastic wrap) and let it cool
• remove the charred outer skin after the bell pepper has cooled, rough chop into pieces
• peel and cut pumpkin into small cubes
• in a pot, lightly brown the garlic and shallots with some oil
• toss in the cubed pumpkin and lightly brown the pumpkin on medium heat
• pour in the cup of chicken stock and cup of water
• add the roasted bell pepper, butter, and salt
• bring to a boil and then simmer on medium-low heat until pumpkin is soft, about 10-15 minutes
• pour contents into a blender and blend everything until smooth (or use a hand blender)
• add in the cream and lemon juice, stir thoroughly

fresh simple ingredients

char the pepper thoroughly

blend until smooth

a rich and creamy soup!

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