Cooking with pumpkin sometimes takes a healthy imagination. But, once you find the right ingredients you will love the results. This recipe for pumpkin soup includes sautéed mushrooms and is an Italian classic brought to us by Giorgia Fontana. Read Giorgia’s write up on this traditional soup below.
Soups are one of my favorite types of dish, especially during rainy days. In fact, I think there is something comforting about savoring a hot bowl of creamy and delicious soup when the weather outside is gloomy, especially if you are with your whole family! Having said that, I also think that a good plate of fresh homemade soup is a great way to eat healthy on any given day!
That’s why today I want to share with you one of my most popular recipes. This earthy, velvety and super flavorful pumpkin and mushroom soup not only is filling and delicious, but it’s also extremely easy to make. The whole preparation takes 30 minutes or less from start to finish and it requires just a handful of ingredients. No wonder this is one of my favorite go-to dishes for busy weeknights!
This recipe is an evergreen classic from the inland regions of Italy, where wild mushrooms grow in abundance and pumpkins are a very common crop. In fact, if you travel around Tuscany or Umbria during the colder months, and you base yourself in a traditional farmhouse or Agriturismo, this is definitely a dish you could easily find on the dinner menu.
According to tradition, for this preparation, you should use wild mushrooms. However, I think it tastes great also with any mushroom variety you can find at your local grocery store, from cremini, to oyster mushrooms, to chanterelles. Finally, if you wish to add a fancier touch to this soup, you can add a few dried porcini mushrooms into the mix. In this case, just remember to re hydrate them by soaking them in warm water for 10 minutes. All in all, if you like soups, I’m sure you will love this one as much as I do!
Enjoy!
If you are interested in more pumpkin recipes, try out this delicious recipe for Roasted Pumpkin with Blue Cheese and Walnuts.
Pumpkin Soup with Sautéed Mushrooms (Italy)
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 1 pound pumpkin, peeled and seeds removed
- 1 small carrot, peeled
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled
- 1 small onion
- Salt, to taste
- 4 cups vegetable stock (optional)
For the sauteed mushrooms
- 10 ounces mixed mushrooms
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus some more for drizzling
- 1/2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Peel, clean and cut vegetables into chunks, around 1-inch thick.
- Put them into a large pot and cover with water. If you desire a deeper flavor, cover with vegetable stock instead.
- Turn the heat on high until boiling, then lower the flame and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- In the meantime, prepare the mushrooms. Trim away the ends and slice thinly.
- In a frying pan, drizzle some olive oil and add minced garlic. When it starts to turn golden in color, add mushrooms and toss them for about 8 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper. Before turning off the heat, add a sprinkle of parsley.
- When soup is ready, blend it with an immersion blender directly into the pot, until it reaches a nice and smooth consistency.
- Serve immediately, adding sautéed mushrooms on top and a drizzle of fresh extra virgin olive oil.
Nutrition
About the Author: Giorgia Fontana
Can you make this with canned pumpkin?
Yes, you could try using 2 15 Ounce Cans Pumpkin Puree instead
Made this for 5 adults and 3 kids yesterday after carving our Halloween pumpkins. It was awesome to have very little waste of the pumpkin (drying the seeds to roast, the meat for the soup, and the shells for our jack-o-lanterns. Only one of the kids didn’t like the soup. Everyone else absolutely LOVED it! It was easy to make. I didn’t have an Immersion blender so I put it in a blender in batches and it works great. It was very filling and so yummy! Thanks for the awesome recipe! It will be a staple in my family’s diet!
Super easy and great fresh flavours
Glad you enjoyed it Gerry. Thanks for the comment.