Pumpkin Soup Recipe: Creamy Hokkaido Soup with Apple and Nutmeg

A creamy Hokkaido pumpkin soup can be on the table in around 35 minutes: dice the squash, simmer it soft with onion, apple and a little ginger, blend, then finish with freshly grated nutmeg. Early September is when the first home-grown Hokkaido squash reach the market – picked young, they're especially mild and nutty, which is exactly why the simplest version is worth making right now.

This soup is the quiet, classic way to start the season: no chilli heat, nothing exotic, just squash, a tart apple for freshness and nutmeg for warmth. Hokkaido makes life easy here – its skin softens as it cooks, so it can simply go in with everything else. That saves you a job and gives the soup its rich orange colour.

Ingredients

Serves 4:

• 1 Hokkaido squash (about 1kg)
• 1 tart apple, e.g. Cox (about 150g)
• 1 large onion
• 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 800ml vegetable stock
• 150ml double cream or oat cream
• 1/2 nutmeg, for grating fresh
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, for sprinkling

Method

1. Wash the Hokkaido squash, halve it and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Leave the skin on. Cut into cubes of about 3cm using a chef's knife – the long, gently curved blade makes light work of the firm flesh.
2. Peel and finely dice the onion, then peel and finely chop the ginger. Quarter the apple, core it and roughly chop.
3. Heat the oil in a large pot. Sweat the onion and ginger over medium heat for 3 minutes until translucent, then add the squash and apple and cook for a further 2 minutes.
4. Pour in the vegetable stock, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until the squash is tender.
5. Blend the soup until smooth, stir in the cream and warm through briefly without letting it boil.
6. Season with salt, pepper and the cider vinegar. Finish by grating the nutmeg freshly over the soup – straight from the nutmeg grinder is easiest, and one or two turns per bowl is plenty.
7. Toast the pumpkin seeds briefly in a dry frying pan and scatter over the bowls.

kjøk tip

Nutmeg is the spice that turns a good pumpkin soup into something special – but only when it's freshly grated. Ready-ground nutmeg loses its aroma within a few weeks, whereas a whole nut kept in your spice grinder will last for months. To keep your knife and grinder going strong: wash the chef's knife by hand after cutting the squash and dry it straightaway, never put it in the dishwasher, and sharpen the blade regularly – firm vegetables like squash need a proper edge. Grinders are best kept dry and away from the stove, so steam doesn't get into the mechanism. Olive wood handles only need a quick hand wash, dry immediately, and an occasional rub of food-safe oil to keep them happy.

FAQs

Do I need to peel the Hokkaido squash?

No. The skin softens as it cooks and blends in without any trouble. It saves you time, and it also gives the soup more colour and a slightly deeper flavour.

Can I freeze pumpkin soup?

Yes, very well in fact. It's best to freeze it without the cream and stir that in only when you reheat it. Stored in well-sealed portions, it will keep for around three months.

How do I get the soup really creamy?

Let the squash go really soft before you blend it – 20 minutes is the minimum. For an even silkier finish, pass the soup through a fine sieve afterwards, or add a floury potato to the pot as it cooks.