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“If I had to choose my favourite Dominican dish, it would be, without a doubt, Dominican pumpkin soup,” says Diala Canelo, author of the 2021 Shortlisted Cookbook, Diala’s Kitchen: Plant-Forward and Pescatarian Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel. “Especially if made by my mother! In Santo Domingo, soups are made whenever it’s rainy and the temperature drops a bit. What makes this soup different from any other pumpkin or butternut squash soup is that it is spiced with cilantro and green onions — ingredients that instantly transport me back home. I always ask my mother to make this soup for me when she comes to Canada, and it’s the one I crave most when feeling a bit homesick. It’s truly food for the soul.”
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Dominican Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients
- 6 cups (1.5 L) vegetable stock
- 6 cups (1.5 L) peeled and cubed pumpkin or butternut squash
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1½ Spanish onions chopped 5 green onions (white and
- light green parts only) chopped
- 4 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1½ cups (375 mL) tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves, divided, more for serving
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) sea salt
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) freshly ground pepper
- ½ cup (125 mL) finely grated Parmesan cheese, more for serving
- ½ cup (125 mL) raw pepitas, toasted
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring the vegetable stock to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the pumpkin and boil until fork-tender, about 18 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the Spanish onions, green onions, garlic, ½ cup (125 mL) of the cilantro, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and slightly browned, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Carefully ladle the cooked pumpkin with the vegetable stock into a high-speed blender. Add the onion mixture. (You will likely have to do this in a couple of batches.) Blend on high speed until smooth. Pour the soup back into the pot.
- Stir the remaining 1 cup (250 mL) cilantro into the soup and simmer over medium heat until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add the Parmesan and stir until melted.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top with more Parmesan, cilantro, and the pepitas. Store in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
Excerpted from Diala’s Kitchen by Diala Canelo. Copyright © 2020 by Diala Canelo. Published by Penguin an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
