Paleo Pumpkin Soup Bowls!

Remember in the old cartoons how the food would always be brought out on silver trays with a dome that was lifted away to reveal their steamy dinner? Today’s soup recipe is a fun way to impress just about anyone at your table, including the picky eating 2 year old with the lift away pumpkin “hats”! Every year for at least the past 7 years I have made these cute little soup bowls out of micro-pumpkins. My kids absolutely LOVED taking the tops off for that TA-DAH! effect. Aren’t they cute? And it’s simple to make them and use the “meat” of the pumpkins to make a nutritious and delicious soup or stew.

Pumpkin patches for me consist of finding THE perfect pumpkins for this traditional soup extravaganza. Usually I do some sort of creamy, thick and contrasting soup that has ground turkey and carrots to round out the flavor. This time around, I tried something that was a big success and a huge relief for me! I tried a NON-dairy version that is totally Paleo. Usually it is hard for me to fall in love with a non-dairy soup. It’s not that I’m against broth, but it’s just not my thang. I love creamy, rich, thick soups full of body and flavor!!

Enter Paleo Pumpkin Soup!

Paleo Pumpin Soup Bowls

4 small pumpkins (the size of a smallish soup bowl)

1 Tbsp Ghee or Butter

1 tsp minced garlic

1 medium onion, diced

2 bacon strips

1 lb ground turkey

1 Tbsp Basil Pesto

1 cup carrots, cut

6 cups chicken stock

2 cups of pumpkin flesh from the pumpkins (if there isn’t enough from your pumpkins, supplement the rest from a can of puree)

1 cup coconut yogurt, plain

2 tsps lemon juice

parsley for garnish

Rub them with a little oil and poke a small hole in the exterior and bake for 20 minutes at 400º. Allow to cool while you start soup. Turn a large pot to medium and add the butter and bacon. Once butter is melted, add onion and garlic and cook until the onion starts getting brown around the edges. Add turkey and brown. Add carrots, stock, cut the tops off the pumpkins and scoop out as much of the flesh as you can without puncturing the sides. Add to the soup and cook without a lid on medium-low for 30 minutes. Remove soup from stove and add yogurt and lemon juice and stir thoroughly. Serve in your pumpkin bowls with the tops replaced for a “tada!” effect!