Kürbissuppe

This afternoon I had the perfect fall meal that always takes me back to Switzerland. Pumpkin Soup and Grilled Ham and Swiss Cheese is a great variation on the ever classic Tomato Soup and Grill Cheese. I made this Kürbissuppe with acron squash, which I'm pretty sure could still fit the title because Kürbis is a more general term than pumpkin meaning all squash (I just don't think Switzerland has the variety of squash we do, so they almost always use a culinary pumpkin.)

Kürbissuppe is very simple to make

Start with a mirepoix of 1/4 onion, 2 carrots and 1 small stock celery
Saute the mirepoix on low heat with a T butter (this is sometimes called sweating the vegetables)
Soften a medium to small pumpkin or squash in the microwave for a few minutes, this makes it easier to shell and cube, which is the next step
Add the cut squash to the mirepoix and add 2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock (adjust amount to cover all the veggies)
Boil together for about 20 minutes or until all vegetables are tender
Pour into a blender and blend until velvety smooth (that is the magic of the soup)
Return to pot and adjust seasoning (I only like to add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and ground rosemary. Unlike with most things I don't get adventurous with this soup and the seasoning. But you could try Cheyenne pepper for a little heat, paprika or I've seen German recipes that add ginger, if you are using fresh ginger add it before you blend the soup.)

Definitely finish it off with some cream or sour cream. And enjoy.