Japanese Pumpkin Soup

Japanese pumpkin (Hokkaido) soup is wonderfully delicious and fragrant, bringing a little bright summer sunshine to even the coldest, dampest day! This soup is lovely with toasted bread, as you listen to the wind howling or raindrops tapping against the window... Or simply when your mood is set to “autumn.” So, how about some soup?

Spices that go well with pumpkin: turmeric, sweet paprika, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander seeds, black pepper, vanilla, chili pepper, nutmeg - to taste

Wash the pumpkin and cut it into pieces the size of a matchbox (Hokkaido pumpkin can be cooked with its skin on). Pour in enough boiling water to just cover the pumpkin and cook for about 15 minutes. Once the pumpkin is soft, add a little salt.

Pour off the water from the coconut milk, add the milk to the pumpkin, and purée with a blender.

While the pumpkin is cooking, toast the shelled pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan.

Garnish the soup with freshly pressed pumpkin seed oil (or the very best quality store-bought oil; the soup's flavor and aroma depend on the quality of the oil and seeds).

Add the spices directly to your bowl—all of them or just a selection, according to your taste (you can also add them during cooking, but this will change the aroma and make it less intense).

Enjoy your meal!

Hokkaido pumpkin