Roasted Pumpkin and Chickpea Soup

Name: Roasted Pumpkin and Chickpea Soup
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4–6

Active time: 30 min

Total time: 60 min

Serves: 4–6

You can still savor and enjoy this soup even if the winter season is over.

Chef's notes

To see more visually stunning pictures and to read more about Divina's delicious soup, click here on her full post from Sense & Serendipity.

Steps

Roasting the Pumpkin

Ingredients

1 lb pumpkin

Place bowl and wire whisk in the freezer. Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut the pumpkin into four pieces. Place the them cut side down, on a baking sheet and roast until tender about 30 to 40 minutes.

Prepare the Frozen Rosemary Whipped Cream

Ingredients

1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tsp of freshly chopped rosemary (approx)
sea salt (to taste)
white pepper (to taste)

While the squash is in the oven, prepare whipped cream. Place a small piece size of parchment paper on a plate. Remove bowl and wire whisk from the freezer. Add the chilled cream to the bowl and whip until stiff. Add the rosemary, sea salt and pepper. Form the whipped cream into quenelles using 2 teaspoons or form into mini rugby balls. Place the shaped whipped cream onto the parchment paper and place in the freezer. Leftover whipped cream can be used for other soups or sauces.

Sauteeing the onions

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion

Dice the onions. Heat the oil in a pot. Add the onion and a pinch of sea salt. Sweat until the onions are soft and translucent. Set aside.

Cooking the bacon and scraping the pumpkin

Ingredients

75 g smoked bacon or pancetta, cut into 1/4 inch strips

In another pan, cook the bacon over low heat until brown but not crispy. Drain over paper towels. Set aside. By this time, the pumpkin should be tender. Cool the pumpkin slightly. Using a spoon, scrape out and discard the seeds and stringy fiber. Scrape the pulp from the skin. Set aside.

Pureeing the soup

Ingredients

600 g cooked chickpeas
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 cups (or more) chicken or vegetable stock
sea salt (to taste)

Save 1 cup of the chickpeas. In a food processor or in a blender, puree in batches the squash, onion, broth, tomato paste and the chickpeas. Return the puree to pot with the remaining cup of chickpeas. If necessary, add stock to thin the soup to a desired consistency. Bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Warm soup on medium-low heat for 10 minutes to blend flavors and ladle into soup bowls and finish with the frozen rosemary whipped cream and garnish with bacon.

11 Comments

Liz S • September 26, 2008 at 03:18AM

I enjoyed this flavourful soup. In North America , I think we assume pumpkins are orange. The picture looked like a buttercup squash and so that is what I used and it turned out great. I didn't freeze the whipping cream - just put a fresh dollop in the middle. The cream with the bacon on top gave it a real gourmet touch.

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Mikell B • October 2, 2011 at 01:42AM

The squash we used gave the soup an earthy flavor and as a result, we added more salt than the recipe probably called for, in order to keep it from tasting like a field. Instead of using whipping cream, we used Fage Total, which required less whipping and added a tangy flavor to the soup.

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Martha W • December 11, 2011 at 11:21PM

I used a kabocha squash and Oikos organice greek yogurt instead of the cream. Came out delicious and I was surprised how east it was to roast the squash and get the meat off the skin. Thanks for the informative recipe!

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Jennifer K • December 23, 2011 at 07:14AM

How much squash/pumpkin did your one lb pumpkin yield?

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Kimberley S • Rouxbe Staff • December 23, 2011 at 04:22PM

1 pound pumpkin is probably between 3 to 4 cups. Refer to the lesson on How to Make Starch-Based Thick Soups for more information on making these types of soups. Cheers!

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Alex B • February 28, 2013 at 08:39AM

Anyone know how to make non-dairy whip cream?

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Ken R • Rouxbe Staff • February 28, 2013 at 04:47PM

Hi Alex- There are many types of substitutes for whipping cream that contain no dairy. Some are store bought and others you can easily make at home. In these applications, temperature and the intended use play a large role in how you decide. In this recipe, coconut milk will serve the purpose and add great flavor. In other applications, whipped silken tofu can serve in place of cream. In cold applications (say, whipped cream for pie) you might use an off-the shelf brand (many contain additives, etc. to stabilize) or you can also whip coconut cream. Given your interest in plant-based cooking, I might suggest that you try Rouxbe's Plant-Based Cooking Level 1. That would be an ideal place to focus your attention to this area if you are interested. Plus, you'll have a community of students to help answer questions like these. Enjoy!

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Kalyn S • October 23, 2015 at 01:53PM

If I am starting with dried chickpeas, how many grams would that be?

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Ken R • Rouxbe Staff • October 23, 2015 at 02:04PM

Hi Kayln- you may need to do dome trial and error to be exact, but beans will roughly double in size and weight once hydrated (so will swell even more.) So I'd start with 250-300 grams and see what that yielded. There's lots to do with some leftover beans. ~Ken

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Donald B • December 10, 2023 at 05:40AM

im from scotland we dont have pumkins - would turnip be ok?

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Char N • Rouxbe Staff • December 11, 2023 at 11:38PM

Hello, Donald--Thanks for writing. I believe that you could use butternut squash or sweet potatoes. Turnips would not render the deep orange that you are seeking. Try the sweet potatoes--you will be very happy. Cheers, Char

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