Pumpkin!

October 8, 2012

The fall colors are becoming more prominent on the landscape of northern Poland and in the city of Gdańsk.  It is simply beautiful and so different from South Carolina. I am excited to be living somewhere that has real seasons!  

During the last week of September the fresh fruit and vegetable market at the Hala Targowa exploded with dozens of varieties of squash.  Every shape, size and color was represented, and oh! The pumpkins!

It has been a challenge over the years to get my husband to eat squash. A few years ago he was tricked into eating my Aunt Susan's homemade pumpkin pie, and thankfully he has not looked back.
*For improved viewing of these photos, click on the picture, and view through the slideshow*

The ladies who come to sell their home-grown fruits, vegetables, flowers and eggs outside the main market.

I try to buy as much as possible from them.

Not a bad day to walk to the market!  

Now I will present, the colors of the Autumn market 

Pumpkin, in Polish, is "dynia"

I could not help myself, I bought a Hokkaido pumpkin on the spot. It's skin was smooth and lustrous and I felt a bit seduced by this little gourd of goodness. But what to do with it?

I am definitely not a pumpkin cooking expert. Luckily, the pumpkin came with a little tag, which had on it a soup recipe.  Soup sounded like a great idea on a crisp fall evening.
I hurried home and got to work translating it from Polish to English. 

Once the translation was finished, I was a little disappointed, because the soup sounded a little, well, bland. The original recipe only called for a little allspice and that's it. I shouldn't have been surprised, as the Poles are not known for using a lot of spice in their dishes. I know that some things are best simply prepared but, I just had to experiment a little.  I'm glad that I did, the results were outstanding!

This recipe can easily be made vegetarian or vegan. You can make it "healthier" by cutting down on the amount of fat by choosing a 0% or low-fat yogurt or sour cream.

Pumpkin is also full of vitamins, minerals and fiber. If you buy a Hokkaido variety pumpkin, you can boil or roast it with the skin on. The outer peel is edible, very thin, and cooks down easily. This keeps many of the vitamins and minerals in your soup, the reason you bought the little guy to begin with! 

Polish Pumpkin Soup - My Version

makes 4-6 large portions

Ingredients:

1 kg (2.2 pound) pumpkin, variety such as Hokkaido or butternut squash

500-1000ml (17oz) chicken or veggie stock (homemade with organic or local veggies is always best!)

1 medium sized onion (spanish or Vidalia), diced

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

3 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon allspice 

1/2 teaspoon clove

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 

dash of ground thyme, or 2-3 springs of fresh thyme leaves

2 cups, packed chopped spinach (fresh is best). If using frozen, be sure to squeeze out excess moisture.

100ml sour cream or creme fraiche

salt and pepper to taste 

scallion, chopped for topping

raw pumpkin seeds, for topping

Method:

Wash the skin of your pumpkin with a soft vegetable brush. As Alton Brown has said, "These things grow in the dirt, ya know."

On medium-high heat, in a stock pot, cook your onion until translucent and fragrant. Take off the heat.

Cut into the pumpkin and remove the seeds.  Save these for later, they are yummy when toasted!

Cut the pumpkin into 2 inch pieces, all uniform in size. 

Put the pumpkin into a stock pot with the onions and add the chicken stock. 

Bring to a hard boil, then lower the heat to a simmer until the pumpkin is tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Once the pumpkin is tender, take off the heat and let cool slightly.

Remove the pumpkin pieces and put into your blender or food processor. Process until smooth.

If you have an immersion blender, this is a good time to use it, directly into the stock pot.

Add your pumpkin puree back to the stock and bring to a simmer on low heat.

Add in the chopped spinach, ginger, spices, salt and pepper to taste.

Once the spinach is wilted, turn off the heat.

Allow soup to cool slightly before serving and remove bay leaf.

Offer the raw pumpkin seeds, sour cream, chopped scallion as toppings.
Adding a tablespoon of sour cream to each bowl, and stirring it in slowly transforms the soup into a rich, luxurious appetizer or main course.

This is absolutely delicious served with warm, crusty bread.

Smacznego!