Roasted Pumpkin Chipotle Soup with Caramelized Onions

Knowing my love of pumpkins, my friend bought me a Jarrahdale pumpkin for my birthday! Such an awesome gift- especially because I've never cooked with one before. If you've never seen one, Jarrahdale's have an interesting greenish-blue outside, with a beautiful bright orange inside (picture below). The last few times I made Pumpkin Soup, I used coconut milk. But this time I really wanted to taste the flavor of the pumpkin. I've also recently discovered that I love caramelized onions. So you'll see this recipe has relatively few ingredients. Don't be fooled though- it still took a little over an hour to make. And honestly, if I wasn't so hungry and it didn't smell so good, I would have simmered it for a while longer so the flavors would blend together more (I'm sure this will taste yummier tomorrow!)

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1.5 cups onion, sliced ~1/4 inch thick

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups roasted pumpkin pulp (you can substitute canned pumpkin, but it will taste a little different)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper

4 cups veggie stock

salt to taste

Directions

1.  In a large heavy bottoms pot, heat the oil, onion, and a pinch of salt on low-med heat.  Let the onions caramelize (~30 min).  This basically means leave them alone so that they can brown- only stir occasionally to keep them from burning and sticking.  Add a little water or wine as needed to keep the onions from burning on the bottom.

2.  Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 mins.

3.  Add the pumpkin pulp, cumin, and chipotle pepper.  Mix well and cook for 10 mins.

4.  Add the veggie broth and bring to a boil.  You can add more water if you want thinner soup. Blend with an immersion blender.   Add salt to taste.  Turn down the heat and simmer for at least 30 mins.

5.  Serve hot.  Optional- top with a pinch of cinnamon, pepitas, hazelnuts, sour cream, or anything else you like!