Thyme Infused Steam Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkins are in season right now!
Well at least it is the case for Taiwan.

My parents got a giant pumpkin from their friend,
Apparently this friend's parents grow pumpkins and other sort of veggies in the country-side,
So they can always get the freshest ingredients all year round,
And this time, we got pumpkins!

Half of the pumpkin was used by my mom in stir fry dishes,
What about the other half?
How about some thyme infused steamed pumpkin soup?

Ingredients (for 3 to 4 people)?

6 cups of pumpkin
4 garlic cloves
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 cup of chicken stock
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/2 onion
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
Some olive oil
Some sea salt
Some freshly ground black pepper

How?

I was actually planning in roasting the pumpkin first instead of steaming it,
Sadly there was an unfortunate technical issue as my oven couldn't keep the heat for over 5 minutes,
Well, good thing there's a nearly fully equipped kitchen,
Let me steam these orange cubes instead.

Peel or cut off the harder skin of the pumpkin and spoon out the seeds,
Cut the meaty part into large cubes and lay them in a flat surface container.
Season with some salt and pepper,
Peel 4 garlic cloves and spread them evenly next to the pumpkin cubes.

Here's my little gardening area -

It's kind of pricey to buy foreign herbs in Taiwan,
So I've decided to grow some myself!
Warning:
It seems that little mosquitoes here in Taiwan love basil, maybe you should avoid it by all means.
(I was frightened)

Lay 2 fresh thyme springs on top of the pumpkin cubes,
Steam till the pumpkin softens -

You can test it by poking the pumpkin with a fork or a chopstick,
It's ready when the utensils can go in without much resistant.

If you do have a well-functioned oven unlike mine,
Simply preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and roast the pumpkin till similar hardness.

Have a soup pot ready,
Drizzle some olive oil, toss in diced onions, sprinkle some salt and pepper,
Cook till the onion turns translucent,
Add the previously steamed/roasted pumpkins including those 4 garlic cloves,
But do remember to discard the thyme springs.

Sprinkle some nutmeg, give it a quick stir then pour in 1 cup of chicken stock,
Bring to a boil then turn off the heat.

Have a blender or food processor ready,
Carefully spoon the ingredients into the blender and blend till smooth,
You might have to do it in few batches, better safe than sorry!

Pour the mixture onto a sifter first then gradually sift it back to the soup pot,
Turn to medium heat, stir in about 1 cup of heavy whipping cream,
Mix well, give it a taste to see if more salts are needed,
You can also add more cream or nutmeg depending on your personal preference.

Garnish with thyme springs, dinner's ready!
Actualy....partial dinner is ready!
(No way I'll get full just by that one small bowl of soup.)

Cindy's Rating: 8
*My dad gave to a whopping number of 10!