Pumpkin Soup (Sopa de Abóbora)
A riff on Portuguese pumpkin soup, this adaptation calls for butternut squash, the closest in taste to a Portuguese pumpkin.
Pumpkin Soup (Sopa de Abóbora)
Photo Credit : Photo by Adam Detour | Styling by Catrine Kelty | Pottery Courtesy of Portugalia MarketplaceBy David Leite
The gourd family is a favorite of the frugal Portuguese, as the fruit can be picked and then kept for months. A curious storage technique, which I discovered during an autumn trip through the vertiginous rural side of the island of Madeira, is to line up the colorful globes on a house’s tiled roof.
This is an adaptation of the soup I thoroughly enjoyed while dining with Dirk Niepoort, scion of the Niepoort wine and port family, at his estate in the Alto Douro. It calls for butternut squash, the closest in taste to a Portuguese pumpkin.
Yield:
6 to 8 servingsIngredients
4 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 medium yellow onions, quartered
3 garlic cloves, crushed
4 fresh sage leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5 cups chicken stock or low-sodium store-bought broth
2–3 cups water
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
1 ½ tablespoons white wine vinegar
Fresh sage leaves, for garnish
Instructions
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 °F.
In a large bowl, toss the squash, onions, garlic, sage leaves, salt, and pepper together. Transfer mixture to a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast the vegetables, flipping them occasionally with a spatula, until the squash is very tender, the onions are edged with brown, and the sage has shriveled but not burned, 50 to 60 minutes, depending on how firm the squash is.
Working in batches, scoop the vegetables into a blender or food processor, tip in a ladleful or two of the stock, and whirl until smooth. Scrape the soup into a large bowl. Stir in the rest of the stock and 2 to 3 cups water to achieve desired thickness.
Pour the soup through a fine-mesh sieve into a large saucepan, grinding the solids with the back of a ladle to get every bit of squash. (Don’t cheat here—it takes time, but the velvety texture is worth it.) Discard the little bit of solids you can’t force through. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat, sprinkle in the cumin, and let burble until hot, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if needed, and stir in the vinegar. To serve, ladle the soup into warm bowls and garnish with fresh sage leaves.
