Finding fresh produce in the dead of a rural, Moldovan winter is almost impossible. Almost.
When I served in the Peace Corps many moons ago, the one winter vegetable – aside from onions and garlic – I came to rely most upon was pumpkin. It was readily available, sweet, and delicious. And I bought one every other week for as long as they lasted.
When you have just one vegetable available to you, you come to know its ins and outs and learn of every possible, imaginable way to combine it with the other ingredients available to you. In spite of the diversity of my recipes, one made it on to the menu regularly: spicy, pumpkin tomato soup. It went great with the crusty bread (which I could eat back then) available from a hole-in-the-wall bakery near my house.
Strangely, I could never find anyone in Moldova who could tell me how they ate pumpkin.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 3 large, chopped tomatoes or 1 28-oz can of chopped tomatoes with their juices
- 4 cups pumpkin puree (fresh roasted or canned, unsweetened pumpkin)
- 1 Tbsp chile flakes
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil for 5-6 minutes, or until translucent.
- In blender, sauté onions, garlic, and tomatoes with 1 cup of the broth. Pour into a large soup pot.
- Add remaining broth, pumpkin puree, and chile flakes to pot. Stir well.
- Bring ingredients to boil. Reduce temperature, cover partially, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately, with garnish of roasted pumpkin seeds, fresh chives, or other topping of choice.