Pumpkin soup can be described as a comforting food, with its delicate smooth texture, sweet and dense flavour, and it's easy to make without much effort. It's a recipe suitable for both winter and summer.
Pumpkin soup is one of my favourite Western-style soups, and the simplest version involves letting the pumpkin shine on its own. However, occasionally adding a touch of luxury can be surprisingly delightful, whether it's lobster or crab meat, elevating the soup to another level. Many people often complain that despite adding a large amount of crab meat to the soup, they still can't taste it in the broth. This may be because they overlooked a crucial step: adding the crab meat during the blending process, ensuring it fully integrates into the Bisque!
The Difference bewteen Bisque & Soup
The title here refers to Bisque, which is a type of thick soup. So, what's the difference between Bisque and Soup? Bisque originates from France and typically involves simmering various types of seafood, such as the most common Lobster Bisque, and sometimes crab, shrimp, mussels, and more. Bisques are usually enriched with cream and cooked slowly to achieve a thick consistency, making them rich and smooth. On the other hand, Soup rarely includes cream in its preparation and is instead made with broth, so it's not as thick as Bisque.
Take tomato soup for example, where both versions use tomatoes as the base. The Soup version is cooked with vegetable broth or chicken broth, resulting in a more liquid consistency. Bisque, on the other hand, is prepared with added cream or milk to achieve a thicker texture.
Which Crab Meat I'm Using?
Fresh crab meat is definitely the best! However, if you have to shell and pick the meat from whole crabs, it's too time-consuming and labor-intensive, not to mention the amount of meat you get isn't sufficient. That's why I prefer buying canned crab meat, about 200 grams per bottle. It's more than enough, and it's cost-effective too, costing just over a hundred Hong Kong dollars per bottle. With this amount, I can make soup for 4-6 people, which makes it very economical.
All set? Let's make a creamy and smooth crab and pumpkin soup together! The video is ready for you, and further down, there's a detailed written recipe and instructions.
Ingredients (serve 4-6)
Pumpkin | 1000g |
|---|---|
Crab Meat | 200g |
Onion | ½ bulb |
Garlic | 2 cloves |
Heavy Cream | 120 ml |
Water | 500 ml |
Vegetable Stock | 500 ml |
Nutmeg Powder | 1 tsp |
Salt | 1 pinch |
Parsley | to taste |
Steps
1.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2.
Peel and deseed the pumpkin, then cut it into small pieces.
3.
Toss the pumpkin with 2 tablespoons of olive oil until evenly coated. Spread evenly on a baking tray and roast in the oven at 180°C for 45 minutes.
4.
Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic.
5.
Heat a pot over medium heat, add a little oil, then sweat the onion and garlic until softened. Add the roasted pumpkin, water, and chicken stock, and bring to a boil.
6.
Once boiling, transfer everything to a blender, add a pinch of nutmeg, and 100 grams of crab meat. Blend until smooth.
7.
Pour the blended pumpkin soup back into the pot, simmer over low heat, and season with cream and a little salt. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat.。
8.
To serve: Ladle the pumpkin soup into bowls, place crab meat in the center, drizzle with cream around, and garnish with chopped parsley.
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