Spicy Pumpkin Soup with Corn and Crab Relish

Spicy Pumpkin Soup with Corn and Crab Relish

This easy recipe for spicy corn soup is vegan on it's own, but made even more delicious with a little corn and crab relish onto. A great recipe for fall! Adapted from Gourmet.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: Latin American

Keyword: corn, crab, easy, pumpkin, soup, spicy, vegan

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 50

Servings: servings

Calories: 328kcal

Author: Nicole Gaffney (ColeyCooks.com)

Ingredients

For the Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion diced
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems
3 garlic cloves roughly chopped
2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 whole pumpkin or hard winter squash peeled, seeded, and cut into ½-inch pieces (about 8 cups)*
5 cups water
1 can well-stirred unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon salt
Pinch of sugar to taste

For the Relish

3 ears corn cooked and removed from the cob (use the method found here!)
1 cup jumbo lump crabmeat picked over for shells
1 teaspoon minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon minced fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Salt to taste
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Instructions

To make the soup, heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook with a pinch of salt until translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add the cilantro and garlic, and cook for 3 minutes more. Add the coriander and cayenne and saute for 30 seconds. Add the squash and cook, stirring occasionally for another minute. Cover with the water and coconut milk, then season with salt and sugar to taste. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 20-25 minutes, or until the squash is very tender. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until totally smooth.
To make the relish, combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and gently toss, being careful not to break up the lumps of crab meat.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top each with one heaping spoonful of corn and crab relish. Drizzle with olive oil and serve immediately.

Notes

The great thing about this soup is that it can be made from just about any winter squash variety you can find. Butternut, acorn, kabocha, calabaza, hubbard, delicata, etc. would all work well here. If you leave out the crab meat, this recipe is totally vegan, and perfect for a simple weeknight supper.
*To prepare this soup using pumpkin puree, substitute the raw cubed pumpkin for 4 cups of puree. Reduce cooking time by 15 minutes, and follow all other directions accordingly.
*For a totally vegan version, simply omit the crabmeat.

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