Spiced Pumpkin Soup with Croutons
An American-style pumpkin soup built for a 30-minute dinner: sautéed onion and garlic, quick-simmered pumpkin, blended until smooth, then finished with cream and a handful of croutons for crunch.
By Julienne
Cook time: 18 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 120 g day-old bread cut into 1.5 cm cubes
- 10 ml olive oil
- 1 g kosher salt
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 5 ml olive oil
- 150 g yellow onion small dice
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 800 g pumpkin puree canned or homemade puree
- 750 ml vegetable broth hot
- 10 g light brown sugar
- 1 g ground cinnamon
- 0.5 g ground nutmeg
- 1 g black pepper freshly ground
- 5 g kosher salt
- 120 ml heavy cream
- 5 g flat-leaf parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oven or toaster oven to 220°C and set a small skillet over medium heat. Toss the bread cubes with 10 ml of the olive oil and 1 g of the salt, then toast in the skillet, stirring often, until crisp and browned in spots, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and reserve for serving. Croutons are crisp, dry, and golden brown.
- Set the saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter and remaining 5 ml olive oil, then add the onion and cook until softened and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more. Onion is softened and glossy; garlic is fragrant but not browned.
- Stir in the pumpkin puree, broth, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, and remaining 5 g salt. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Soup is steaming, lightly thickened, and the spices taste integrated.
- Blend the soup until smooth using an immersion blender in the pot, or carefully transfer in batches to a countertop blender. Return to the saucepan if needed, then stir in the cream and warm gently over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes without boiling. Soup is smooth and velvety, and the cream is fully incorporated.
- Ladle into bowls and top with the croutons. Garnish with parsley if using. Bowls are hot, topped with crunchy croutons, and ready to serve.