There’s certainly no shortage of pumpkin recipes this time of year – like pumpkin bread pudding or cakes made of pumpkin (and other) pies – but we’ll get enough of that at/around the actual holiday.  I picked up a couple of wee pumpkins at the market the other weekend with good intentions of making soup or something else savory – but then they sat on the windowsill for a week, and then another week, and then I just gave up and roasted them on Sunday, packing the softened caramelized flesh into a container for another day.

Tonight I used about half of the mashed pumpkin in a curried pumpkin soup, adapted from an Epicurious recipe that called for far too much liquid and far too few seasonings. I halved the recipe, upped the spices, and completely eliminated the extra water – and was rewarded with a creamy and savory soup with just a bit of heat.   We paired it with crusty farm bread and a New Glarus Apple Ale, a fantastically effervescent candy apple of a beer.  Happy days.

Curried Pumpkin Soup
Adapted from Epicurious

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 generous teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 generous teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 generous teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
2 cups roasted fresh pumpkin or 15 oz canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

Saute onions in butter in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute, then add the rest of the spices and cook 1 more minute. Stir in pumpkin, broth, and coconut milk and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Purée soup in batches in a blender or food mill until smooth. Makes 4 generous servings.