Cream of pumpkin soup, or pumpkin anything, is probably not something that comes to mind when you’re thinking about traditional German food. However, pumpkins have become a very popular part of fall in Germany. When we were there last year we saw different varieties of pumpkins for sale on road sides, folks growing small varieties in their gardens and used as part of fall decor. There’s also that huge pumpkin festival over in Ludwigsburg. It feels like it’s becoming part of new traditions with seasonal foods from homemade pumpkin jams (seriously, pumpkin apple and pumpkin coconut jam are awesome) to pumpkin soups available as an appetizer at this time of year in most restaurants.
For any pumpkin (or pumpkin spice) haters out there, don’t worry, it’s not quite like it is here where pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavoured everything hits the stores in September.
The most popular pumpkin variety in Germany is the hokkaido, a small, bright orange globe of a winter squash that’s apparently very easy to grow. While I don’t have any personal experience in working with these (yet! have to find one first), I have watched a German family friend made one into delicious pumpkin curry soup. The amazing thing to me is that you don’t have to remove the skin. It can become totally incorporated into what you’re making unlike the sugar pumpkins we mostly use. It’s having to deal the rind part that keeps me from making batches of homemade pumpkin puree every year. It’s a little labour intensive for my taste.
While researching pumpkin soup recipes, I’ve found lots of variations. The most popular of which included ginger, curry or apples. Those all sound fantastic to me but I’ve decided to go for a more basic version. The recipe I’m working with is one I found in a regional cookbook I got as a wedding present last year called Das Main-Spessart Kochbuch. It’s rather special to me because Main-Spessart is the county, or Landkreis, in Franconia (northern Bavaria) where we call home. However, a recipe like this is also quite popular in Austria.
German Cream of Pumpkin Soup
(Kürbiscremesuppe)
Ingredients:
- A pat of Butter
- 1/2 of an Onion, finely chopped
- 1 Garlic Clove, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of dry White Wine
- 1 + 1/2 cups of Vegetable Broth
- 1 15 oz can of Pumpkin Puree
- 1/4 cup of Heavy Cream
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Optional Toppings:
- Freshly grated Nutmeg
- Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
- A drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar
Extra Equipment:
- Immersion Blender
The amount here makes enough for a 2 big bowls of soup or 4 small appetizer soups. It’s easy enough to double (or triple) it if you want more or leftovers.
Ideally, you’d want to cube hokkaido pumpkin for this soup and cook it in the broth and wine until soft, but I’m going to make it easy (or perhaps cheat) and use a can of pumpkin puree instead. Canned pumpkin puree isn’t 100% our idyllic jack-o-lantern pumpkins anyway.
I highly recommend the balsamic vinegar drizzle on the ladled bowls of soup. It really gives the soup a little extra flavour kick. If you can find pumpkin seed oil, that’s supposed to be the absolute best here.
Let’s get started!
Melt butter in medium sized pan on medium heat. Add a little olive oil to keep the butter from burning.
Add the finely chopped onion and garlic to pan and cook until they become translucent and start getting soft. This is about 7 – 10 minutes with occasional stirring.
Pour in the white wine and vegetable broth and let it come to a soft boil.
Add the whole can of pumpkin and stir to incorporate it completely. Reduce the heat down to low.
Bring out your trusty immersion blender and puree the soup until it’s nice and smooth with no more onion chunks/bits.
Lastly, we add in the cream and give it a good stir. The soup should be a bold yellow-y orange in colour.
Let the it heat through for about 5 – 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
One thing you don’t want to happen with this soup is for any of it to get stuck to the bottom of the pan. I know from one of my trials gone slightly awry that this creates unsavoury chunks in an otherwise delightfully smooth soup. The low heat should help prevent this.
There we have it. A wonderful bowl of simple cream of pumpkin soup where the pumpkin is through and through the star.
While this is considered to be a creamy appetizer soup, we’ve been finding it the perfect accompaniment to grilled cheese sandwiches in lieu of tomato soup. Totally not a German thing but it’s totally a scrumptious American-German fusion that’s perfect for rainy fall evenings. That’s almost every evening now in my neck of the woods!
What’s your favourite kind of fall soup? Tell me the comments below!
As always,
und Alles Liebe,
Diony
German Cream of Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients
Ingredients
- A pat of Butter
- 1/2 of an Onion finely chopped
- 1 Garlic Cloves finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of dry White Wine
- 1 + 1/2 cup of Vegetable Broth
- 1 can of Pumpkin Puree
- 1/4 cup of Heavy Cream
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Optional Toppings
- Freshly grated Nutmeg
- Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
- A drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar
Extra Equipment
- Immersion Blender
Instructions
-
Finely chop onion and garlic. Melt butter in a medium sized pot on medium heat. Add olive oil to keep the butter from burning. Saute for 7 - 10 minutes or until starting to turn soft.
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Add white wine and broth and let it come to to a low boil. Add can of pumpkin puree and stir until incorporated. Reduce the heat to low. Use immersion blender to blend until soup is smooth. Add the heavy cream and stir. Heat through for about 5 - 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
-
Serve each bowl with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and/or toasted pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
You can also use pumpkin seed oil, instead of balsamic vinegar, for a topping.
Adapted from Das Main-Spessart Kochboch
Part of the Spessart is also in Hessen,near Frankfurt am Main. I have family in Lohrhaupten. I spent much of my childhood years there on vacation.
But to the Kürbis ( Pumpkin) the soup is served often. But one of my favorite dishes is Kürbiskompott (Stewed Pumpkin). It is sweet-sauer and often eaten like a dessert. I was not able to make it in the US,since I did not find the right pumpkin. The German ones have a softer skin and are easier to cut in small squares. We never had any pastry with pumpkin. This were the only two dishes I knew. Pumpkins also were not carved,since we don’t have Halloween in October (in Germany) we only have Faßnacht in Spring.
I love hearing about people’s experiences with different foods, especially in Germany, so thank you for sharing that, Renate. It’s really good to know that Pumpkin/Kürbis has been around a lot longer than I realized. I’d just never really seen it in Germany until recent years. I’d love to try to make a Kürbiskompott sometime. Sounds delicious!
Would it be possible to use fresh pumpkin? If so how much?
Yes, you can absolutely use fresh pumpkin. While I’ve never tried it, you should be able to use 1 3/4 cups of fresh pumpkin in lieu of a 15oz can of pumpkin puree.