I was inspired to try and make pumpkin soup (Kuerbis Suppe) by two friends in Germany. One friend, brilliant in the kitchen at just about everything, taught me how to make potato soup. The other invited me to lunch at his home and served me pumpkin soup the first time. I have combined the inspiration from both my friends and developed my own recipe. I don't measure anything, but for convenience, have estimated the quantity of ingredients here.

Ingredients

1 Ambercup pumpkin* (weighing around 1 to 1 1/2 kg or 2 1/2 to 3 pounds)
1 leek
1 clove garlic (or more, to taste)
1 large carrot
1/4 celery root (optional)
1 medium to large potato
2 tbs olive oil
Vegetable soup cube (enough for at least half a litre of water)
Half litre water
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp curry powder (or to taste)
1/4 tsp cayenne powder (or to taste)
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)

Appliances needed: electric hand mixer or blender.

* They call these pumpkins Hokkaido in Germany.

The first and most demanding task is to peel and cube the pumpkin. I start out by halving the pumpkin and scooping out the seeds. Then I cut it into wedges, like you would a watermelon, to for "ease" of peeling. I use a small sharp knife to peel the skin off of the pumpkin wedges. You don't need to: You can eat the peel. But since I only have an electric hand mixer and I prefer a smoother soup, I peel the skin. Once peeled, I dice the pumpkin into about 1 1/2 cm cubes (this is not an exact science so don't panic as a result of your triangular, odd-sized pieces!). Set aside the pumpkin.

Next, cut the white part of the leek into round slices, cut the carrot into slightly smaller pieces, and dice the potato and celery root into cubes. In a large pot, heat olive oil and add all the vegetables except the pumpkin. Add the garlic (sliced, chopped, or whole, it makes no difference). Sauté for 10 minutes. I recommend a low to medium heat. Add the pumpkin and a bit of water to make sure nothing sticks. Add more water as necessary and when everything is tender, take the pot off the heat.

Use your hand mixer to purée the cooked vegetables. Mix soup cube into half a litre boiling water and add to the vegetable purée. Then add all spices. Simmer on low to allow the flavours of the spices to release. Just before serving, add the heavy cream.

A word to the wise: You can use more or less cream, more or less water depending on the consistency you want (start with a half litre then add as necessary until you are satisfied with the consistency). A tasty alternative to heavy cream is coconut milk. Then you can change the spices to something Thai-ish. Change up the any of the spices listed to try your favourites. No fresh pumpkin available? Try using a large can of unspiced puréed pumpkin!

This soup is very filling and freezes well.

Enjoy!