Pumpkin Carrot Autumn Soup
Serves 5-6
Takes about 1 hour
This is one of those fresh from the
autumn farmer’s market or natural food stores soups. My local natural foods store is always full
of the most beautiful array of different colored vegetables. It feels like a challenge to create something
as colorful as possible. Purple carrots
aren’t a necessity but they increase the beauty of the soup ten-fold. They turn your broth purple and the result is
mouth-watering. If you can’t find the
purple ones, use the regular old orange ones.
Baby sugar pie pumpkins work well – they are the right size and easy to
deal with but you could also buy a part of a large pumpkin. Sunchokes are optional but they add a nice
crunch. The prep time is mostly the time
it takes to chop all the vegetables.
Ingredients:
2.5 lbs pumpkin, seeds removed, peeled with a vegetable peeler, and cut
into small squares
3 purple carrots, peeled and diced
1 leek, diced
3 sunchokes, unpeeled and diced (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh minced, unpeeled ginger
3 cloves minced garlic
5 cups water
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 bay leaves
¼ cup fresh chopped savory leaves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp onion granules
½ tsp paprika (bonus points if it’s smoked)
½ tsp ground sage
Black pepper to taste
1. Heat olive oil in a pot. When
hot, add the garlic and ginger and sauté for a minute or two. When ginger starts to stick to the pan, pour
in the water.
2. Bring the water to a boil.
Add the pumpkin and the vinegar.
Bring to a boil again, then lower heat to medium, cover and boil gently
for about 6 minutes.
3. Add in the rest of the ingredients.
Bring back to a boil. Boil for 6
– 7 minutes. You want the carrots to be
somewhat soft but still have firmness.
The sunchokes should still be crisp.
4. Pairs well with sweet brown rice and/or fresh bread. Serve immediately.
