I'm a lazy cook :) I subbed a large can of pumpkin for the sugar pumpkin and a can of vacuum-packed sweet potatoes for the fresh variety. I used a tsp of pumpkin pie spice for the spices and used 1/2 c of evaporated milk for the cream. Although I'm sure fresh is better, this soup turned out very tasty!! And for 140 calories and 6 grams of fat per serving, was quite healthy too. Will definitely make again.
I thought this soup was very good. However next time I am going to omit the whipping cream. When I put it in my blender to puree it the cream "whipped" so my soup was more like a mousse. I don't think it even needs cream. I think it would be fine on its own.
My family loved this recipe and my 12-yr-old son said it was a "keeper". My other two kids both rather finicky eaters gobbled this right up and asked for more. We used this as a main dish and therefore DOUBLED the recipe to serve 7 people which only gave us about 2 leftover servings. Considering the amount of time it took to prep I'm glad we did that -- I wouldn't have wanted to prep this twice in one day! Some tips: we sliced up the pumpkin and cut out the seeds then boiled it in water for about 15 minutes to soften it up making it much easier to pare the skin from the flesh. Because we doubled the recipe we had to saute the veggies in batches before throwing them all together with the remaining ingredients in our large stockpot. Kid-friendly: 4 stars (if your kids don't like pumpkin or sweet potato to start with they probably won't like this.) Easiness: 5 stars (it IS easy to make) but quickness 2 stars -- takes long time to prep! Overall 5 stars -- it tasted WONDERFUL and the rave reviews from my parents husband and kids made it all worthwhile.
Great soup! Couple of tips use a food processor to chop all of the veggies saves significant amount of time chopping. Use an imersion blender to puree the soup transfering hot soup to a blender can be dangerous! I doubled the recipe and substituted butternut squash for one of the pumpkins. I also had to boil the pumpkin cubes first in order to get the skin off. I served it with hot wheat rolls all my neighbors are still talking about this soup. I will definitely make this again.
This was a fabulous soup! Really hearty and the leeks with the squash and sweet potatoes make for a really full flavor combination. These were my alterations: I can't eat much dairy so like I do for all cream soups I omitted the cream and it was still wonderful (and MUCH healthier.) I baked the butternut squash instead of trying to peel it and added it later than the raw vegetables. Also I don't like the spicy flavors of nutmeg and cloves and didn't have any of the other spices on hand anyway. I ended up adding a little ginger and thyme and tons of black pepper. I loved that the flavors in the soup can really stand on their own without the spices and cream. This is the best squash soup I've ever made!
All the work cutting the veggies is well worth it. I so enjoyed this soup that I made another batch the same week.
Amazing soup! I think this will work with any kind of winter squash - there are so many varieties available in the fall. Instead of using 1 cup heavy cream I used 1/3 cup heavy cream and 2/3 cup lowfat buttermilk to cut down on the calories and fat. I also used ginger instead of nutmeg because my husband doesn't like nutmeg. This soup is hearty and tasty and I will definitely make it again!
This was a delicious soup! I used butternut squash instead of pumpkin. I had a hard time cutting it up so I microwaved it a few minutes to soften it a bit. Also I have never heard of a creamed soup recipe that didn't add the cream at the end after the puree. I did it this way and it turned out just fine. It's a lot of work but I will make it again.
Unlike many other reviewers I followed the recipe with the minor exception of using lowfat cream. It is excellent. I like a little spice in my soups so I might toss in one of my homegrilled chipotles in my next batch. I grew my own leeks and they vary greatly in size but I would estimate that if using store bought leeks use two that are at least 2 inches in diameter if smaller use accordingly more. Basically it appeared to me that the mass of leek and pumpkin should be about equal!
I don't like it...it's weird tasting.
