A new twist on pumpkin: Pumpkin Miso Soup
Ever notice how the whole pumpkin thing is skewed towards sweets? And even the savoury foods tend to have a sweet tooth?
Pumpkin soup is totally a thing in Japan, surprisingly enough. You can get little cans of corn or pumpkin soup all steaming hot from the vending machines…and it’s super sweet.
I thought I would try something radical: a miso soup with a pumpkin base. That has nothing to do with cinnamon and spice. In one way, it’s inspired by Japanese flavours…but has nothing to do with ‘traditional’ Japanese pumpkin soup. Much in the same way that Japanese-style Italian pasta is totally a thing. BTW…google a recipe for “Spaghetti Napolitan”. It’s made with ketchup and hot dogs and has a cool back story.
This is a truly savoury soup for the pumpkin non-conformist and it is perfect for these ridiculously blustery days. And it would be perfect with some homemade pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top.
I am still working through my sugar pumpkin harvest so I made this one from scratch but you can just as easily used canned pumpkin (which my sweet friend Melissa did for the version you see here). Canned pumpkin makes this soup weeknight-doable and still yummy.
Want some extra crunch? Try this with my homemade croutons or sriracha pepitas!
Stay warm my friends…
Pumpkin Miso Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small sugar pumpkin, or 1 can of pumpkin puree, (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 1/2 cup plain unsweetened soy, oat or cashew milk
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup shiro (white) miso
- half medium yellow onion, sliced
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 cloves garlic,, sliced
- 1 inch piece ginger, , minced
- salt and pepper
Garnish, Optional
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil , for drizzling
- sriracha roasted pepitas, or nori strips for garnish
- croutons
Equipment
- handheld immersion blender
Instructions
- Roast the pumpkin: preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the pumpkin in half, remove seeds and stringy bits and then coat the flesh with a generous drizzle of olive oil, 2 tbsp maple, salt and pepper. Place on a rimmed cookie sheet, cut side down and roast for 35-45 minutes.
- Or, open the can of pumpkin and voila. Boss.
- Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Cook onion until soft and glossy, about 5-7 minutes. Then add garlic and ginger and stir for 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin flesh, turmeric and 500ml (2 cups) water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Finally, add soy milk and miso and blitz with a handheld blender until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary.
Notes
Photo Credit: Melissa Quantz
