Mixing Bowl

Tarmo Hannula

SEASONAL TASTE Combine sourdough bread, rich Swiss Cheese and milk inside a pumpkin to make a festive fall soup.

Soup in a pumpkin

By SARAH RINGLER

Halloween is over and pumpkins are everywhere. If you happen to have an uncarved pumpkin sitting around, here is a way to turn it into a delicious soup.

This recipe comes from Solange, a French woman I knew, who made this for a luncheon I attended many years ago. Since the soup is made inside the pumpkin, it makes a dramatic presentation.

The problem with making this soup is that there are no exact ingredients; the amounts depend upon the size of the pumpkin. The amounts below are suggested and should be modified according to the size of your squash. A medium-size pumpkin can make enough soup for about five people. The main requirement is that it has to fit inside your oven.

There are many kinds of pumpkins and all are edible, but some are more adaptable to eating with more flavor, and thicker and denser flesh. Pumpkins bred for carving tend to have thinner and drier flesh.

A member of the squash family, it is native to North America and there is evidence that it has been farmed and eaten for around 9,000 years. It can be steamed, baked, boiled or grilled on hot coals like it was in ancient times. Some pumpkins that might be better for this soup are Pie, Cheese, Cinderella, lumina or peanut pumpkin. Peanut pumpkin, a French variety also called Galeux d’Eysine, is pinkish colored and has a sweet flesh.

Don’t forget the seeds, which can be used to grow next year’s crop or to eat: Preheat an oven to 375 degrees. Put seeds in a colander and run water over them to clean them up. Dry in a kitchen cloth. Put them in a bowl and toss with a little sea salt and olive oil. Spread them out on a cookie tin and bake for about 15-30 minutes stirring them until they are crunchy.

French pumpkin soup

One medium sized pumpkin 2 cups sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and lightly toasted 3-4 cups Swiss cheese, grated 1-quart milk or enough to fill the pumpkin 1 tablespoon salt 2 teaspoons ground black pepper 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 2-3 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Take slices of sourdough bread and cut into cubes. Put them into the oven for a few minutes to dry them out a bit.

Cut a ring around the top of the pumpkin that allows you enough space to get your hand inside so you can clean the seeds out. The lid will go back on the pumpkin as you bake it.

Clean out the seeds and scrape out the stringy and slimy fibers. I used a soup spoon to scrape off a thin inner layer. Take the seeds and rinse and then roast them with oil and salt for a snack. Wash and dry the pumpkin. Put it on a pie plate.

Sprinkle the inside generously with salt, pepper and nutmeg and rub around to coat the sides. Put in a layer of bread cubes followed by a thin layer of grated cheese. Alternate layers until the pumpkin is about 2/3 full, no more. Pour in milk leaving an inch at the top. Dot with butter. Put the top back on.

Bake the pumpkin for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Keep an eye on it to make sure the outside doesn’t get too dark in color. Some liquid may pour out onto the pie tin.

Finally, before serving, stir the inside with a metal spoon, scraping off the cooked flesh and mixing it with the bread, cheese and milk. Be very careful not to puncture the skin. Place the cooked pumpkin and pie plate on the table. Serve immediately with some nice fresh bread.