Curried Pumpkin Soup

This is one of my favorite soups. It's very rich, so I don't make it very often. But the flavors of these ingredients combined are amazing. I first found the recipe here and it was an instant hit. I've made a few changes/substitutions, and as always, with soup, am not too specific with measurements. I'm attempting to measure so that I can write it down for you here.















1 large piece pumpkin (5 cups chopped)
2 large onions
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cans coconut milk (of course, fresh would be the best)
8 Tbsp molasses or 1 cup black rum (I've tried both; I prefer the molasses)
1 stick butter (you could substitute oil, I'm sure. I haven't tried.)
Zest and juice of 2 large lemons (limes would be better)
1 Tbsp (approx) of curry powder
Kosher salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
1/3-1/2 white wine
*brown sugar -- you can substitute a little extra molasses and honey. About 1/2 c or to taste.

You will need 2 pots.

1.Pot 1: Boil pumpkin chunks with stock, rum/molasses, and water if needed to cover until very soft.
2. Pot 2: Saute sliced onions in butter or oil until soft. Add coconut milk, lemon juice & zest, curry, honey, bay leaves. Simmer about 1/2 hr.
4. Combine all and blend or puree
5. Taste and adjust seasonings and thickness (you can add more water or stock or wine or...)

Soup is a very forgiving dish. You can really play around with ingredients and amounts; feel free to experiment! I don't have any white wine today and am making it without it. Never think you can't make something unless you have all of the exact ingredients.

Serve it up with some freshly baked french bread, a salad, and enjoy!