Southwest Pumpkin Soup
This recipe was inspired by a soup made on Rachel Ray’s cooking show over 15 years ago! Over the years I’ve made some tweaks to the soup, which includes making it vegan, by swapping the heavy cream in the original recipe with full-fat coconut milk. If you prefer, you can omit the coconut milk completely to make a delicious, very low-fat soup. It’s totally up to you, but I highly recommend including the coconut milk. It adds a velvety creaminess that compliments the heat of the cayenne and the tang of the lime juice so nicely. Originally Rachel Ray served her soup with cheese quesadilla slices. If you would like to do the same but are looking for a healthier, plant-based alternative, here’s my quesadilla recipe HERE.
Southwest Pumpkin Soup - Serves 6
2, 15oz cans of 100% pure pumpkin puree ( not pumpkin pie mix )
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
1 large yellow onion, diced
1, 14.5 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1, 14.5 oz can of roasted diced tomatoes ( including liquid )
1.5 Tb curry powder
1.5 tsp cumin powder
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ( salt with 1/4 tsp and then check the heat level at the end before adding more )
Juice of one lime
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro ( optional )
To Prepare
*In a large pot over medium-high heat, saute diced onion in a couple of Tbs of water ( or 1 Tb of olive oil ) until translucent ( approximately 5-7 minutes ). Add curry powder, cumin powder, and cayenne powder to the onion and saute for another 30 seconds to lightly toast the spices. Careful not to burn.
*Add remaining ingredients ( except the cilantro ) and bring soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the freshly chopped cilantro. Now, taste the soup and adjust salt, pepper, cayenne and/or lime juice if needed.
To serve
Distribute soup into shallow serving bowls. Topping suggestions include baked corn tortilla strips, chopped cilantro, chopped chives, THESE spicy pumpkin seeds, and/or a dollop of vegan sour cream ( sour cream recipe is under my dips/sauces )
This recipe freezes well if anyone is interested!
