It is still the time of the great pumpkins, as I wrote here, there are many uses for the pumpkin. One classic is a cream of pumpkin. 

There are plenty of recipes for this dish. Being a “cream” as I said previously, should have only a couple of ingredients. 

However, sometimes I do find a pumpkin soup or cream a little dull. I often thought it needs a bit of a jolt, and in my view—better yet, for my palate—adding a touch of ginger and sweet paprika would do the trick. Besides, I came home from Budapest with a supply of paprika, to put to good use. 

For this cream you’ll need

600gr of butternut pumpkin

2 potatoes (or 1 potato and 1 carrot) 

1 onion (or shallot)

Vegetable stock

1 tablespoon of oil 

1 tablespoon of Butter

Some croutons from some good bread, like a baguette

Sweet paprika

A teaspoon of grated ginger

Thyme, rosemary, and sage

Salt and pepper 

And a dash of heavy cream

You can follow your regular recipe, and or change the vegetable or the binding ingredient if so wish. 

Preparation

To make a perfect pumpkin soup with spicy croutons, chop the onion and slowly sauté in a saucepan with a little oil, add the thyme, rosemary, and sage, and continue cooking until the onion is soft and transparent.

Add 2 potatoes and 600 grams of pumpkin pulp cut in chunks, then cover with hot vegetable stock and cook for about 30 minutes. Once cooked, remove the  thyme, rosemary, and sage, and blend it with your favorite blender. Set aside, but keep it hot. 

On a non-stick pan, put a tablespoon of butter with a pinch of paprika and the grated ginger and brown the diced bread, until it is golden brown.

Pour the pumpkin cream with the spicy croutons in single dishes, then decorate the dish with a sprig of thyme and some dots of heavy cream.