A smooth squash soup finished with cream, croutons and grated cheese, the soup French families make all autumn. Made here with kabocha or butternut squash, since the French potiron is rare in Canada and carving pumpkins are too watery.
For me this soup is how autumn starts the French way: a pot on the stove, bread and cheese on the table. Growing up, it was never croutons or Gruyère on top, it was both: a handful of crisp croutons, then grated cheese melting into the hot soup. October in Canada has pumpkins on every doorstep, but the big orange carving ones aren't what goes into it.
Both toppings are easy here. The croutons are day-old bread toasted in butter while the soup simmers, and for the cheese, a wedge of Swiss Gruyère or Emmental, grated, melts into the hot soup. Oka grated cold works too if that's what you have: it melts just as smoothly and tastes a little earthier, which a sweet squash soup takes well.
What the French put in the pot
In France it's a weeknight supper from October through the winter: potiron, onion and one potato simmered in broth, blended, and finished with a spoon of cream. Potiron is a big, flattened winter squash with dense, sweet orange flesh, and you'll rarely see it in a Canadian store.
Why a carving pumpkin makes thin soup
Carving pumpkins are watery and stringy, and they give a pale, bland soup however long you cook them. What you want is a dense, sweet winter squash, the kind that's hard to cut.
Making it in Canada
The 3 French ingredients, and what to buy for them in Canada.
Potiron→Kabocha squash, or butternut
Both are dense and sweet like potiron. Kabocha is the closest: dry, sweet, with a slight chestnut taste. Butternut is smoother and easier to peel. Small pie or sugar pumpkins work if that's what you have; carving pumpkins don't. If you see red kuri (potimarron), use it skin and all.
🛒 Voilà (Sobeys) lists kabocha sold one at a time, imported from Mexico, so it's stocked outside the Canadian harvest. Butternut is sold year-round. Pick a squash that feels heavy for its size, with a dry, corky stem.
Crème fraîche ou crème liquide→35% whipping cream
35% stirs into hot soup without splitting and gives the richness of crème liquide. Cooking cream (crème à cuisson, 15%) is made to take heat and works too. For the slight tang of crème fraîche, add a spoon of 14% sour cream to each bowl at the table, not to the pot: at 14% fat it can curdle in hot soup.
🛒 Lactantia 35% Whipping Cream is listed at Voilà (Sobeys) and Sealtest 35% at Walmart. Lactantia 15% Cooking Cream, 473 mL, is listed at Voilà. Compliments 14% (Voilà) and Great Value 14% (Walmart) sour cream come in 500 mL tubs.
Gruyère râpé→Swiss Gruyère or Emmental, grated from a wedge; Oka if that's what you have
The cheese goes on at the table and only needs to melt into the hot soup. Swiss Gruyère is nutty and melts smoothly; Emmental is milder and melts the same way. In France, bags labelled gruyère râpé are usually Emmental, so Président Emmental (220 g, Walmart) is the closest everyday match. Oka melts as smoothly, with an earthier, less nutty taste; grate it straight from the fridge so it doesn't clump. Skip pre-grated bags: the coating that stops them clumping also keeps them from melting smoothly.
🛒 Emmi Swiss Gruyère (150 g) at Walmart; in Quebec, Le Superbe Le Gruyère (195 g) at Metro. Président Emmental (220 g) at Walmart. Oka Original (190 g) at Walmart and Sobeys.
Good to know: Kabocha skin is very hard. Prick the whole squash a few times and microwave it 3–4 minutes to soften it before cutting, or buy pre-cut butternut.
Ready to cook?
Pumpkin Soup
Soupe de potiron
A smooth squash soup finished with cream, croutons and grated cheese, the soup French families make all autumn. Made here with kabocha or butternut squash, since the French potiron is rare in Canada and carving pumpkins are too watery.
Prep time
20 min
Cook time
35 min
Total time
55 min
Servings
6
Ingredients
Original recipe: 6 servings.
Instructions
Prepare the squash. Peel the kabocha or butternut with a sharp knife or a sturdy peeler, scoop out the seeds and cut the flesh into 3 cm cubes. Red kuri (potimarron) doesn't need peeling: scrub it, seed it and cube it with the skin on.
Soften the onion. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion 5 minutes, until soft but not brown.
Add the vegetables. Add the squash and potato and stir for 2 minutes to coat them in butter.
Simmer. Pour in the broth, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently 20–25 minutes, until the squash crushes easily against the side of the pot.
Make the croutons. While the soup simmers, melt 2 tbsp butter in a frying pan over medium heat and toss the bread cubes in it for 5–6 minutes, until golden and crisp on all sides.
Blend. Blend until completely smooth with a stick blender, or in a blender in batches with the lid vented. If it's too thick, add a little hot water.
Finish. Stir in the cream and nutmeg, season with salt and pepper, and reheat without boiling. Serve each bowl with a drizzle of the reserved cream, a handful of croutons and a spoon of grated cheese on top, plus pumpkin seeds and a spoon of sour cream if you like.
Notes
Keeps 4 days in the fridge. It thickens as it sits, so thin it with water when reheating.
Freezes well for 3 months. Freeze it before adding the cream and stir the cream in when you reheat.
Stringy soup, which happens with some pie pumpkins? Push it through a sieve after blending.
For a vegetarian soup, use vegetable broth.
Course: Appetizers · Cuisine: French · Adapted for Canadian kitchens
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For a quiche or a hot sauce, use 35% whipping cream; for a cold dollop or a dip, 14% sour cream. Liberté's 40% crème fraîche is the real thing when your store has it, and you can make your own overnight.
