I don’t get tempted by soup very often.

But once I saw the recipe for this Curried Pumpkin Soup, I had to make it. Pumpkin, mushrooms, onion, curry powder, vegetable broth, evaporated milk, honey, nutmeg. These were ingredients that would either create something wonderfully complex or a total abomination.

If you’ve ever made a bad soup, you know exactly what I mean.

But as I added each ingredient to the pot and watched the soup transform, I became more convinced that it was going to be something wonderful. A lovely, creamy, exotic concoction. And the most important ingredient was the one I feared the most, the curry powder. Curry powder can be as overpowering as pine-scented deodorant, but the half-teaspoon in this soup is just enough to marry the savoriness of the vegetables and broth with the sweetness of the pumpkin and honey and give this creamy soup a little edge.

Just right for a late-summer lunch in your flip-flops, dreaming of the fall.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Adapted from “Taste of Home’s Big Book of Soup”

Makes 7 servings

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin (or about 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree from pumpkin that has been roasted and drained for several hours)
  • 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Garnish: fresh chives (optional)
  1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onion. Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
  2. Stir in the flour and curry powder until blended.
  3. Gradually add the broth, stirring to combine. Bring the mixture just to a boil, and stir for 2 minutes, or until the mixture thickens.
  4. Stir in the pumpkin, milk, honey, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Heat through. Serve immediately. Garnish with chives, if desired.