Pumpkin Soup with Leek

It’s filled with Halloween spirits everywhere in October. In North America, pumpkin is a very important, traditional part of the autumn harvest. It is used not only in Halloween decorations; it is also often made into various traditional festival foods, such as pie, bread or soup, for Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday.

Pumpkin is not only loaded with Vitamin A, it’s also a very good source of Vitamins B6, C, E and Dietary Fiber. This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol and Sodium. Passing by the loads of pumpkins on sale, I cannot help to get one for the pumpkin soup I’ve been craving for. I use two other ingredients, leek and celery, to balance out the heaviness and richness in pumpkin taste without adding much seasoning.

Ingredients:

1. 1 small pumpkin (around 2.5 lb.)
2. 1 bunch Leek
3. 1 stalk celery
4. 1 can (14 oz.) low sodium chicken broth
5. salt, ground pepper

Directions:
1. Put the whole pumpkin in steamer to steam for about 50 minutes or until tender. Cut the pumpkin in half, spoon out and discard the seeds and stringy portion. Peel the pumpkin, cut it into small pieces, put them into a food processor or a blender; puree with 1 can of low sodium chicken broth.
2. Cut leek diagonally in thin strings. Soak in water for a while and wash off the dirt.
3. Cut celery horizontally in 0.5 cm thin sections.

  


4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in pot. Drain the leek and add it into pot, stir-fry until tender and fragrant. Add celery pieces, stir briefly. Add pumpkin puree and one can of water, season with salt and ground pepper. Once the soup comes to boil, lower the heat to medium low and simmer for about 3 minutes. Remove and serve.