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bowl of pumpkin orange soup topped with marinated feta and green onions.
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5 from 4 votes

Pumpkin Orange Soup

Creamy and aromatic pumpkin orange soup made with orange juice and topped with marinated feta cubes.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 249kcal
Author: Adina

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 small pumpkin about 1.5 lb/ 700 g, Note 2
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 ½ cups vegetable broth 600 ml, Note 3
  • ½ cup orange juice freshly squeezed, 120 ml Note 4
  • 3.5 oz feta 100 g
  • 5 thyme sprigs divided
  • 2 thin green onions
  • fine sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Prepare ingredients: If using Hokkaido (red Kuri squash), there is no need to peel it. All other pumpkin or squash sorts need to be peeled. Halve the pumpkin or squash, remove the seeds, and cut the halves into 2 or 3 larger pieces. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the peel. Cut into cubes.
    Chop the onion and the garlic cloves, but keep them separated.
    1 small pumpkin / 1.5 lbs/ 700 g + 1 medium onion +2 garlic cloves
  • Saute: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil and cook the pumpkin and onions on medium-low heat for about 4 minutes; the onions should be softer but not turn brown. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another two minutes.
  • Simmer: Add vegetable broth, freshly squeezed orange juice, and 2 of the thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes or until pumpkin or squash cubes are soft.
    2 ½ cups vegetable broth + ½ cup orange juice
  • Feta: In the meantime, cut the feta cheese into smallish cubes and the scallions into fine rings. Place both in a bowl and add the remaining olive oil and the finely chopped leaves of the remaining thyme. Mix very carefully and add some pepper. Leave to marinate until the soup is ready.
    3.5 oz feta + 5 thyme sprigs + 2 thin green onions
  • Blend the soup: Remove the thyme sprigs and blend the soup. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper. Serve with marinated feta on top.
    fine sea salt + freshly ground black pepper

Notes

  1. An immersion blender is best for blending soup. A regular blender works, too, but safety first. Hot soup can be risky; a blender explosion might scald you or wreck the kitchen. Cool it a bit, blend in batches, and keep the blender half full. Cover the blender with a towel, hold it down, and increase speed slowly. Transfer the blended soup to another pot and repeat with the remaining batch.
  2. Pumpkin: The 1.5 lbs/ 750 g needed are weighed after peeling and removing the seeds. I use Hokkaido pumpkin or butternut squash most of the time. Another sort of flavorful pumpkin can be used instead.
  3. Consistency of the soup: For a slightly thinner soup, add ½ to 1 cup extra vegetable broth.
  4. Orange: ½ cup was the juice of 1 large orange.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the soup | Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 763mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g