Ginger Pumpkin Soup

Winter is almost over. It's now March and even though it's still below freezing outside, it will soon be springtime. Gone will be the winter squash and beets (stupid stupid beets). Soon enough, we'll be seeing peaches and tomatoes at the farmers market. At least, I hope that happens soon. I can't spend another day chipping ice and almost slipping multiple times on the way to work.

I made this soup with a great pumpkin I got in my CSA box. This soup is absolutely wonderful, creamy, delicious and spicy. It's a great main dish meal with a piece of crusty bread. It would be a wonderful first course soup as well. We enjoyed it immensely for several days.

Ingredients

• 1 3 1/2 lb pumpkin
• 2 yellow onions, diced
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 1/2 inch piece of ginger root, grated
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• cayenne pepper
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
• salt and pepper to taste
• greek yogurt or heavy cream
• cilantro, scallions and toasted pumpkin seed for garnish
• roasted red pepper for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Cut pumpkin in half a scoop out the seeds. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake the pumpkin in the oven for 30-45 minutes until tender. Scoop pumpkin out the skin when cool enough to handle.
2. In a large pot, sautee the onions, garlic and ginger in a little olive oil until tender. Add spices, pumpkin and stock. Cook for another half hour until the flavors blend and season to taste.
3. Pour soup into blender and blend until smooth. Return to the pot over low heat.
4. Taste soup and add cream or greek yogurt as desired to mellow the flavor of the ginger. Simmer until desired consistency is reached. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve with desired garnishes.