Cream of Pumpkin Soup

How do you make a cream of pumpkin soup without cream?

Easy – tofu. Not all dairy can be replaced with soy, but if you are living a dairy-free lifestyle like my family is, you will find there are some things that go together. Espresso coffee and soy milk? Not so good. But Pumpkin and silken tofu? Perfect. Most silken tofu actually has less flavor than soy milk, and its dense texture is perfect for blending – none of those miso soup style soy whirlpools. If you hadn’t been warned this was dairy free, you would swear it was full of cream.

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin* – about 500 - 750g, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion – chopped
• 200g diced bacon
• 2 cloves garlic – crushed
• slurp of olive oil
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 bouquet garnis pouch (or a teaspoon of mixed dried herbs like thyme and sage and bay leaf)
• 1 vegetable bouillon and 1.5L of water (or 1.5L of stock)
• 1 packet silken tofu (about 400g)
• salt and white pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan, brown onion, bacon and garlic in the olive oil, then add all ingredients except the tofu.
2. Simmer slowly until pumpkin is soft, then add tofu and blend

Serve with a dollop of soy yoghurt and a sprinkling of smoked paprika. If you wish to make this a vegan dish, omit the bacon and use 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika and an extra bouillon (stock cube).

I served this with cake bread – recipe coming next!


*Australians call butternut squash by the name of pumpkin, and this is what I used. Any variety of firm orange-fleshed pumpkin or squash would work for this soup.