Moroccan roasted pumpkin soup is everything that you want a good soup to be. Its filling, delicious, super hearty and perfect for fall. The sweetness of cinnamon roasted pumpkin is further enhanced by the addition of cream and ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice blend. Topped with salted pistachios, fresh pomegranate and some coconut cream, this here is my bowl of bliss. 

Here we are, at the start of a fresh new week and as promised I am sharing with you some more fall recipes. Just like the grilled corn chowder, this Moroccan roasted pumpkin soup is creamy and smooth. And delicious.Wait I did mention delicious before, right?

Coz this, Moroccan roasted pumpkin soup, my dear friends, is delicious with a D!! 

Fall essentially marks the start of my favorite season. I am already looking forward to the days ahead, filled with so much joy and festivity! I was a little slow last week on the blog as I have guests at home right now. My in laws actually and things can get a little tough to blog about when you are want to spend time with the family. But anyhow I decided I needed to share this with you soon, so here I am. I sacrificed an hour or two of fun time with the family to make sure you get this dose of super delicious Moroccan roasted pumpkin soup in your feed. Coz this was stunning! And yes, the entire family loved it, with my MIL even having second helpings! Hallelujah!

Moroccan roasted pumpkin soup that’s perfect for the fall.

This recipe is totally inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Tieghan from the amazing Half Baked Harvest. To say that she is awesome is an understatement of the century. What I love the most about her dishes is her absolute crazy signature Tieghan spin on everything. The flavor combinations she uses are spot on and her styling is to die for. She happily cooks for her brothers and lucky family who enjoy everything she makes. Who wouldn’t!? Every time I visit her site I end up wishing we were best friends and I lived next door to her 😛

I did make certain changes to the recipe to suit what I had in my pantry but it was absolutely delicious. While she used the sweeter butternut squash, I had pumpkin in my fridge and ended up using that. Also, the spices and toppings are a bit different. But yes, being a true blue Indian, home made garlic and sesame naans are a way of life and yup, I did serve the soup with these naans. I make a simple 15 mins no yeast naan that takes minutes to come together and is so so fluffy and delicious you wont want to order in again. You could serve these with this extremely delicious Caprese crostini or basic pita too. 

As for this Moroccan roasted pumpkin soup, don’t get deterred by the name. Moroccan spices are pretty similar to basic Indian staple spices like cumin and coriander, cayenne pepper or lal mirch powder as we know it. Here I use a Moroccan spice blend and cinnamon roasted pumpkin to cook in coconut milk and vegetable broth to form this gorgeous soup.

Morocco’s food culture is a hob nob of predominantly four different regions, Mediterranean, Arabic, Andalusian, and most importantly, Berber cuisine with a tiny European and Subsaharian influence. As I mentioned earlier most spices found and used in India find a place in the Moroccan kitchen also. A mix of some 27 kind of spices forms the most sought after spice blend in Morocco called ras-el- hanout.

Are you wondering why on earth am I suddenly doing Moroccan food!?? Did I go to Morocco like everyone else and fall in enchanted love? Ha. As if that’s the only way one tries out new cuisine. Here’s what happened. I was doing my favorite thing, aka, shopping for food and ended up buying new things to try. Like couscous, Tahini paste (finally in town!), organic quinoa and some others spice blends. Although Mediterranean cuisine is something I am very familiar with and za’atar and sumac one of my favorite spices, this time I wanted something that was new. Enter the wonderfully exotic sounding ras el hanout! Now that I had the spices in hand, how could I not give everything a Moroccan make over?! So I went ahead and added a little bit of ras el hanout to the sweet cinnamon roasted pumpkin. Result: So so good! God.. ras el hanout might just be my new favorite thing! PS: If you are looking to make something with za’atar, this za’atar spiced chicken crepes and the Mediterranean grilled chicken with muscato grapes are simply ah-mazing! 

The base of red bell pepper and onion along with roasted garlic gives this a lot of flavor and oomph! If you want, you can also add some pureed tomatoes to this instead of the bell pepper. Either way it makes for a really filling and hearty soup that screams fall in a happy, homely yet luxurious way! I am thinking of serving this again for the Diwali party followed by Thanksgiving. Am I mad or have you started planning your menu too? 

So, make this anytime you have pumpkin lying around your kitchen and need something to pick you up. Its absolutely drool worthy. Besides who cares if its officially fall or not. With soup this flavorful and good, its always pick me up soup time as far as we are concerned! 

PS: Do not skimp on the garnish. Its more than just garnish. Pomegranates and pistachios are staples of Moroccan cuisine and add lovely contrast to this creamy bowl of goodness. Make it for weeknight dinners like this vegan Thai noodle soup or serve it as a starter soup when you have guests! Either way, you will love the way your house smells and the party in your mouth. 

Xo,

S.

Find the Moroccan spice blend Ras el hanout here.

Print Recipe

Moroccan roasted pumpkin soup

Moroccan roasted pumpkin soup is everything that you want a good soup to be. Its filling, delicious, super hearty and perfect for fall. The sweetness of cinnamon roasted pumpkin is further enhanced by the addition of cream and ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice blend. Topped with salted pistachios, fresh pomegranate and some coconut cream, this here is my bowl of bliss.

Prep Time

40 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Servings

Ingredients

For the cinnamon roasted pumpkin

• 1/2 medium Pumpkin cubed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Cinnamon Powder

For the Soup:

• 1 head of garlic whole, remove skin
• 1/2 medium Pumpkin roasted
• 1 Red bell pepper scliced thin
• 3 1/2 tsp Ras al hanout spice
• 1 can full fat coconut milk
• 2 cups low sodium veg broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme

For topping:

• 2 tbsp coconut cream
• 2 tbsp pomegranate aril
• 1 tbsp chopped salted pistachio
• mint leaf to garnish
• Honey to drizzle

Prep Time 40 mins Cook Time 20 mins Servings Ingredients For the cinnamon roasted pumpkin 1/2 medium Pumpkin cubed 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp Cinnamon Powder For the Soup: 1 head of garlic whole, remove skin 1/2 medium Pumpkin roasted 1 Red bell pepper scliced thin 3 1/2 tsp Ras al hanout spice 1 can full fat coconut milk 2 cups low sodium veg broth salt and pepper to taste 1/2 tsp dried thyme For topping: 2 tbsp coconut cream 2 tbsp pomegranate aril 1 tbsp chopped salted pistachio mint leaf to garnish Honey to drizzle

Instructions

For the cinnamon roasted pumpkin

1. Start by cleaning out the pumpkin, and save the seeds. I will show you how to make the roasted seeds next! Once clean, cut pumpkin into cubes. Arrange on a baking sheet Drizzle the olive oil and cinnamon powder, little salt and roast in a pre heated oven at 180C for 40 mins or till fork tender. Set aside. At the same time, drizzle 1 tsp olive oil over the garlic and put it into the oven with the pumpkin to roast. Once 40 mins are up, remove, let cool a bit and then pound or mash the roasted garlic with a little bit of salt. Keep aside.

For the soup:

1. Heat a deep sauce pan with 2 tsp of olive oil . Add the sliced red bell pepper and the ras el hanout spice blend and cook for 4 mins till fragrant and soft. Add the roasted pumpkin , salt and pepper and cook for 2 mins . Next, lower the heat and add the coconut milk and broth into the pan. Let it come to a boil once, then simmer on low heat for 20 mins. Once the soup is done, add the roasted garlic to it. Let it cool a bit before using a hand blender to blend the soup smooth.

To serve:

1. Pour the pureed soup back into the sauce pan and heat through. Ladle some soup into bowls, drizzle some coconut cream on top, add some pomegranate arils, chopped pistachios, mint leaf on top. Finish with a final drizzle of honey and more black pepper. Serve hot with naan/bread.

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