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Well it’s official. My 20’s are now behind me and I’ve joined the 30’s club. I think I’ll say goodbye to one decade and hello to the next with a steaming hot bowl of Pumpkin Carrot Fennel Soup, complete with roasted pepitas.
Nothing is more comforting than a hot bowl of soup when you’re having a mixed feelings kind of a day. On the hand, I do feel much more like an adult now that I’m 30 ????. On the other hand...I feel much more like an adult ????. Kind of a “Yes! Wait what?” day today.
My birthday was yesterday but I’m definitely still adjusting. I don’t know why but I keep getting that fluttering feeling in my stomach whenever I think of my age ????. It’s totally ridiculous but this birthday has been a little nerve racking.
Nevertheless, onward to a whole new decade full of amazing things! Like pumpkin carrot fennel soup ????????. And don't forget those roasted pepitas!
This soup though. Honestly, I haven’t made a true soup in a long time, I’m definitely more of a stew person. The last one that I shared was the butternut squash soup from year ago!
Quite often when I’ve tried a pumpkin soup, it’s been on the sweet side, which is not my preference for a soup. This pumpkin carrot fennel has just a touch of sweet, from the pumpkin and fennel with a pinch of cinnamon. Otherwise it’s all savory business and it’s de-licious. Jam packed with veggies too and you’d never even know it!
Also I topped it with some freshly roasted pepitas, lightly tossed in a little olive oil and a pinch of salt. They only take about 5 minutes and they’re SO tasty, I ate a bunch of them right off the pan!
Alright guys. Excuse me while I deal with my 30-ness and make sure to grab a bowl of pumpkin carrot fennel soup before the season is out!
Pumpkin Carrot Fennel Soup with Roasted Pepitas
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
A steaming hot bowl of pumpkin autumn harvest soup made all in one pot and topped with fresh roasted pepitas.
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium carrots, quarter and diced
- ½ large yellow onion, diced
- 1 celery rib, halved and diced
- ½ medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
- 1 medium granny smith apple, peeled and diced
- 1 small shallot, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced into ½ inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 5 cups vegetable broth (chicken broth also works)
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup milk
- Fresh parsley for garnish
For the Pepitas
- 1 cup raw pepitas
- ½ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of coarse salt
Instructions
For the Pepitas
- Preheat oven to 400˚F. Toss all ingredients in a small bowl until coated. Pour onto a baking tray and arrange into a single layer. Bake for 5 minutes until toasted. Let cool completely.
For the Soup
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add carrots, celery, onion, and shallot to the pot and cook 4-5 minutes, until softened.
- Stir in apples, fennel, and garlic. Cook 1 minute, until garlic is fragrant.
- Pour in apple cider vinegar and cook 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Add pumpkin puree, sweet potato, vegetable broth, cinnamon and ground ginger, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sweet potato is soft.
- Remove from heat and, while stirring, pour in cream and milk. Stir until completely combined.
- Use an immersion blender or transfer to a stand blender and blend until completely smooth.* Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with a roasted pepitas, fresh parsley, and a swirl of cream*.
Notes
*If the soup is too thick for your liking, add a little more milk and cream, about a ¼ cup at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. Alternatively, you can also add more broth, but this will reduce the richness of the soup so make sure to balance with a little more cream/milk.
* If using a standing blender, definitely let the soup cool somewhat. Boiling hot soup + a lid on standing blender will cause the lid to fly off when you start blending.
To swirl the cream as a garnish, whisk it a little bit first. This will make it lighter so that it will stay on top of your soup!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
Sandra says
Where is the fennel in this soup??
Aberdeen says
???? Thank you! Recipe edited and updated!
Meghan says
How many servings? Thank you!
Aberdeen says
4! Updated the recipe, thank you for asking!
Tori says
Delicious-didn’t have Granny Smith apples so used nashy pear instead; worked a treat!
Aberdeen says
Nice substitution, I'll have to give it a try!