Pumpkin and Ginger Soup

on today's menu :  Pumpkin and Ginger Soup

The word pumpkin comes from the Greek pepõn for a large melon.. Pepon was changed by the French into pompon. The English changed pompon to Pumpion.  American colonists changed pumpion into pumpkin.

Pumpkins are believed to have originated in North America. Seeds from related plants have been found in Mexico dating back to 7000 to 5500 B.C.

RECIPE

Serves 4: 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion, finely chopped, 2 cloves garlic, crushed, 2.5cm (1 inch) piece root ginger, peeled and grated, 650g (4 cups) peeled and chopped pumpkin flesh, 850ml (3 cups) vegetable stock
Sweat the onions gently in the olive oil for 5 mins, add the onion, garlic, ginger and pumpkin and cook for 5 mins more. Add the water or stock and simmer for 15-20 mins, until the pumpkin is tender. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor and thin with a little extra stock, water or milk if necessary.


FACTS:

• Pumpkins are a member of the Cucurbita family which includes squash and cucumbers.

•  Pumpkins contain potassium and Vitamin A.

•   Pumpkin flowers are edible.

• The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took six hours to bake.

• In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crust of pies, not the filling.

• Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.

• The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,140 pounds.

• Pumpkins are 90% water!