This harissa squash soup is made with roasted butternut squash, garlic, coconut cream, and warm spices, then baked and served right inside little pie pumpkins. The soup gets creamy and slightly spicy while the pumpkin soften in the oven so you can scrape a little into each spoonful as you eat.

Why blooming spices matters

Blooming spices means briefly cooking them in fat before adding the liquid. Heat and fat help release and spread many of the spices’ aromatic compounds making cumin, coriander, paprika, and turmeric taste fuller and fragrant throughout the soup.

Coconut cream vs. coconut milk

Coconut milk and coconut cream are made from the same basic ingredients (coconut flesh and water) but coconut cream contains a higher proportion of coconut solids and less water. That makes it thicker, richer, and higher in fat. For this soup coconut cream gives it a creamier texture and helps balance the heat from the harissa. Coconut milk will still work but the soup will be noticeably thinner.

Harissas North African roots

Harissa is a North African chile paste most strongly associated with Tunisia where it’s a staple of the cuisine. It’s traditionally made with dried red chiles, garlic, spices, and olive oil although the exact blend varies by region and household. Chile peppers themselves arrived in North Africa after the Columbian exchange eventually becoming so embedded in Tunisian cooking that harissa is now one of the countrys most recognizable foods.

Pie pumpkins vs. carving pumpkins

Pie pumpkins and carving pumpkins are both technically edible but they’re grown for different purposes. Pie pumpkins are usually smaller with denser and sweeter flesh while carving pumpkins are bred to be large and relatively hollow. That’s why pie pumpkins hold up well as edible bowls: the flesh becomes tender as the soup bakes without immediately collapsing.

How to make harissa coconut squash soup?

Preheat oven to 400f and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the onion, quartered butternut squash, and head of garlic on the baking sheet and brush with a little bit of olive oil. Bake for about 35-45 minutes until soft.

In a large pot melt the coconut oil over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp harissa, 1-1 1/2 tbsp grated ginger, 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp paprika, and 1/4 tsp turmeric. Cook for about a minute until fragrant, then add 6 cups of broth.

Once the vegetables are done baking and cool enough to handle, squeeze the roasted garlic in the pot and add the onion. Remove the skin from the butternut squash and add it to the soup. Simmer over medium heat.

Meanwhile line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the tops of the pumpkins on one, and the pumpkins on the other. Brush the insides with olive oil and bake for about 25 minutes.

Make the roux. Melt 4 tbsp butter over medium low heat and stir in 1/3 cup flour. Cook until golden brown, frequently stirring.

Using an immersion blender blend the soup until smooth. Add the coconut cream in the soup and season with salt and pepper.

Stir in the roux and simmer for about 10 minutes. If the soup gets too thick adjust it with the remaining broth.

Squeeze in the lime juice. Check the seasoning.

Lower the oven temperature to 375f. Fill the pumpkins with the soup leaving a few centimeters at the top. Bake for about 20-30 minutes until the pumpkin is fully cooked but still firm enough to hold the soup. You want the spoon to scrape the flesh easily without the pumpkin collapsing.

Serve with cilantro, roasted pumpkin seeds, and sour cream with the pumpkin tops on the side.

Tips

Don’t rush the roasting; letting the butternut squash, onion, and garlic get properly soft and browned around the edges gives the soup much more flavor.
To avoid any flour lumps whisk some soup into the roux first then stir it back in the pot.
Watch the pumpkin walls; you want tender enough to scrape with a spoon but not too soft or they will collapse.

harissa coconut squash soup