Pumpkin Soup, Baked in the Pumpkin

Ingredients for two people.

Note: give yourself a lot of time. This took me two hours.

1 small size pumpkin (2 or 2½ pounds), rinsed.

2 tsp vegetable oil

½ TBSP butter

1 clove garlic, smashed & minced

¼ cup yellow onion, chopped

½ - ¾ cup apple, peeled, cored, & cubed

½ tsp chicken or vegetable bouillon paste

½ cup or so milk or milk alternative (soy, etc.)

2 oz fresh feta or goat cheese, crumbled

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Pre-heat the barbecue to medium heat.

Prep the pumpkin as if you were carving a jack-o-lantern: make a lid & clean out the seeds. Oil the outside of the pumpkin. Set it in an oiled snug, oven-safe bowl or soufflé dish.

Fill the pumpkin: Add butter, garlic, onion, apple, bouillon paste and milk. Do not fill completely; leave at least half an inch clearance in the top of the pumpkin.

Turn off the barbecue burners on one side, and place a veggie tray on that side. Set the pumpkin on that veggie tray on the un-heated side of the barbecue. (I’m told that you can use a 375º oven instead.) Bake the pumpkin until it’s done. That was about an hour in the barbecue.

Remove the lid, add the goat cheese & thyme, and cook another 30 minutes.

Pour the soupy contents into a blender or food processor. Scrape most of the pumpkin meat off of the inside of the pumpkin and add to the food processor. Pulse until the soup is creamy, but still has textured chunks.

Serve in soup bowls. Garnish with a few more thyme leaves, roasted pumpkin seeds, or a drizzle of crème fraîche. Serve with toast or crackers.

As an alternate, and if your pumpkin is still holding form well:

Leave the soup in the pumpkin, and scrape some of the pumpkin meat into the soup with a spoon, then blend with an immersion blender. Serve in the pumpkin.

Conclusion: We loved this. Very good.

Note: this goes well with a bright pilsner.