Pumpkin soup is a wonderful creamy dish to serve on its own or as an appetizer. However, how do you make it special? It is only a simple pureed soup. There is nothing remarkable about how it looks. To liven it up, you may consider topping your soup with a little something to make it more elegant and inviting.
Many things can be used as a topping for a bowl of soup. The most common topping is herbs. A sprig or a couple pieces that are connected together can easily be placed in the center of the bowl to adorn your bowl. This adds color and texture to a bowl of pureed soup. Top your soup with a sprig of basil, thyme, or parsley for a nice look. You can also chop up herbs into a fine texture and sprinkle it on top. Chives, parsley, and cilantro are often served this way.
Topping your soup with powdered spices is a great choice. Freshly ground nutmeg is delightful, as is a dusting of cinnamon. You may also want to experiment with coriander, ginger, cayenne, cumin, or curry. They all add more flavor to your soup as well as looking nice on the top.
The classic topping for traditional pumpkin soup is a dollop of sour cream. You can also pour just a dab of heavy cream in the center and swirl it like they do on a latte. Crme fraiche, yogurt, and grated cheddar cheese are also possible toppings that will mix in well with pumpkin soup. For that matter, when you make a sweet chilled pumpkin soup, you could put in a small scoop of vanilla ice cream or vanilla flavored whipped cream.
If you want your topping to give you more texture, try some fruit or seeds. Pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries or chopped apple make a wonderful addition. Sprinkle on some roasted pumpkin seeds for some toothsome crunch along with the smooth soup. They add a lot of flavor and texture.
If you are serving a vegetarian pumpkin soup, you can choose to add a spice on top, or maybe some seeds or chopped herbs. They all make a wonderful look. Tie a couple of chives together or sprinkle some rosemary needles on top. They look lovely and are easy to remove while your guest is dining.
If you still want to do more to make your soup look great, choose elegant bowls to serve it in. If you are doing a seasonal meal or a meal that is more casual, maybe you’d like to serve the soup in hollowed out pumpkin shells. This is a fun way to serve pumpkin soup. The soup looks festive due to the bowl, rather than what you top it with.
When you are planning on how to present your pumpkin soup, do not overdo it. Try to limit yourself to a single topping at a time. Too many can be overkill and can overwhelm your presentation. Think about the formality of the occasion, and what your guests are expecting.
With all the recipes for creamy pumpkin soups out there, you can easily make a different one each time you make this soup. All are very easy to make, so it can be put together at the last minute. Try a pumpkin soup tonight and see how your family likes it!