Pumpkin soup: the star recipe of winter

Pumpkin soup: 3 tips not to go wrong 

Pumpkin velouté can be prepared in many different ways; we have chosen one of the more wholesome versions , with just a few ingredients, but to be chosen carefully.
Here are a few tips to make sure you make a workmanlike velouté.

1) The best is the pumpkin violet.

If you can find it, try to use the so-called violin squash: recognizable by its elongated shape that may resemble a violin, it has firm, compact flesh with a slightly sweet taste, which makes it very suitable for our recipe. In addition, violin squash peels very easily: it will therefore be easier to prepare. If you should not find this variety of pumpkin, let your trusted retailer advise you, who will surely be able to suggest a good alternative.

2) Prepare vegetable broth at home.

There are excellent stock cubes on the market for making stock, but homemade stock is a whole different matter. If you have some time on your hands, do it this way:

• Wash and cut 2 carrots, 1 onion and 1 celery stick into fairly large pieces.
• Put them in a pot and cover them with 3 liters of water.
• Let the whole thing cook for about 1 1/2 hours.
• Once warm, strain the broth through a strainer.

At this point the broth will be ready to be used while cooking the pumpkin velouté.

3) Extra Virgin Olive Oil: both raw and for sautéing.

Our recipe calls for only a few ingredients, and for this very reason it is important to choose quality products.
Protagonist along with the pumpkin in our velouté is undoubtedlyextra virgin olive oil, which is essential to give the final touch of flavor to the finished dish, and is also ideal for sautéing, by virtue of its high smoke point, which allows it to withstand high temperatures without burning and degrading.

For the velouté, we recommend that you use an olive oil intense, with a well-defined flavor, to create the right contrast with the delicacy of the pumpkin. We used theunfiltered Il Casolare Fruttato Intenso Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a highly textured, fragrant oil with a distinctly fruity flavor that goes well with the delicate sweetness of the pumpkin.