Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Really, I believed people when they said using fresh pumpkin was so much better than using canned pumpkin in recipes, but I always thought that roasting a pumpkin, or peeling, chopping and boiling a pumpkin would be time consuming. It is, not terribly so, but it is soooo worth it: the color is more vibrant, the taste is so fresh and there's something satisfying about carving the top out of a pumpkin and scooping out those hard-to-get seeds that puts a smile on my face.

The color of this soup, the flavor and the texture even is beyond any other soup I've ever made. I owe it to the roasting of the sugar pumpkin and the addition of coconut milk. I whipped this together in no time (but allow for at least an hour for the pumpkin to roast and then cool). Use an entire sugar pumpkin and double this recipe, I only used half a pumpkin because I'm going away this weekend and don't want it to go to waste.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

makes two dinner-sized portions

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
One heaping cup chopped roasted sugar pumpkin (1/2 small sugar pumpkin) [to roast a sugar pumpkin, cut the top off of the pumpkin, scoop out the seeds and roast in the over at 350 for about an hour, let cool at least 10 minutes before handling and chopping]
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup coconut milk (can use light)
1 teaspoon curry powder

In a pot on medium heat saute the onion in the olive oil for about five minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and pumpkin and saute briefly. Then add the vegetable stock, coconut milk and curry. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about ten minutes. Take the soup off the heat and let cool a bit. You can either use a immersion blender and blend right in the pot, or transfer your soup to a blender or food processor to get the soup to it's desired consistency.