Curried Pumpkin Soup with Cream - Test 1

1 - The flavours are good, but the soup is thin. Adding another 14 oz of pumpkin purée to see what happens - I suspect I'll have to adjust to spicing by 1/3 since I'm adding 1/3 the volume of pumpkin.
1.1 - I think I'm thinking about this all wrong. It isn't about increasing the amount of pumpkin, but about decreasing the amount of broth. So I'm cutting the broth by half and returning the quantity of pumpkin back to 28 oz, and converting that into cups (or approximation).
2 - It looks too thick, but once blendered and with the cream added, it's just right.
3 - I'm using pumpkins that were harvested too soon due to frost, which, I suspect, may be why I feel like the pumpkin flavour is not pronounced enough. I will put this on hold until I get properly grown pumpkin again.

4 - It worked quite nicely. I doubled the recipe, so the amount of cayenne was a slightly rounded tsp, and that was the right amount of heat.

5 - I suppose I didn't actually change the quantities to double the recipe last time. I have done, now. A note about the difference in how to treat leek vs. onion, because while they are both alliums, they are different plants. The greater pungency of globe onions vs. the delicate flavor of the leek means that it isn't a straight on 1 to 1 substitution. A little less onion cooked until some caramelisation happens softens its pungency and the browning works well with the sweetness of the pumpkin. The broth question is because different pumpkins have different water quantities, so holding back a half cup will give me more latitude to make adjustments.

8 Servings

2 Tbsps butter
2 leeks  (12oz/340g) sliced 

    OR 2 small onions (8oz/230g) chopped

4 tsps. curry powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
2lbs steamed pumpkin (after peeling and steaming)
3½ + ½ cups chicken broth
1 - 2 tsps. salt
35g grated ginger
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne
1 cup cream
2 Tbsps. honey or maple syrup

1. In a soup pot, cook leek in butter until it completely softens but does not brown, about 10 minutes. If using onion, cook in butter until is starts to soften and browns.
2. Add the curry, coriander and cumin powders and mix, until the spices become fragrant.
3. Add the pumpkin purée, 3½ cups chicken broth, salt, ginger and cayenne.
4. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
5. Run through a blender until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add the ½ cup of extra chicken broth.
6. Take the soup off the heat source and mix in the cream and honey, mixing until dissolved.
7. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley as garnish.