Pumpkin Soup with Crispy Spam and Rye Sourdough Croutons

This pumpkin soup has a savoury surprise: golden, crispy cubes of Spam folded through the bowl like salty little treasures. Roasted pumpkin brings sweetness and body, cream and cream cheese make it rich and silky, and rye sourdough croutons add a crunchy finish.

Ingredients

• One small pumpkin or about 500 g pumpkin pieces, peeled and chopped.
• One half of a tin of Spam, diced.
• One tablespoon of coconut oil or beef dripping
• 250 mL beef, lamb, and pork stock
• 75 mL pure pouring cream (no thickeners)
• One tablespoon of cream cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Some rye sourdough bread, preferably frozen overnight, then thawed slightly and diced.

Method

1. Heat the oven or barbecue to 200 °C. Spread the pumpkin pieces and diced Spam on a tray, drizzle with a little coconut oil (or beef dripping), and roast until the pumpkin is soft, caramelised at the edges, and easy to mash.
2. The diced Spam should become crisp and browned. Set aside a small amount for “garnish.”
3. Add the roasted pumpkin and cooking liquor to a saucepan. Simmer for 10 minutes so the flavours come together.
4. Blend the soup until smooth. Stir in the cream and sour cream, then season with salt and pepper. Keep the heat gentle so the soup stays silky.
5. Fry the diced rye sourdough in some beef dripping, letting it absorb the savoury pan flavours from the Spam. Cook until crisp.
6. Ladle the soup into a bowl. Scatter over the crispy Spam and rye sourdough croutons.

Serving idea

Serve this as a lunch or easy evening meal. The Spam gives the soup a savoury, meaty edge without announcing itself too loudly, while the rye sourdough croutons bring crunch.

Cook’s note

Freezing the rye sourdough roll overnight, then using it for croutons, is a handy way to work resistant starch into the meal while also reducing waste. For a smoother soup, blend thoroughly before adding the crispy Spam pieces.

Today’s food diary

Morning tea

I posted this on the Facebook group The Best Vanilla Slices in Australia

It is a private group with >124,000 members.

Vanilla slice from Providore in the Adelaide Central Market.

Price: $5.00, which is relatively cheap for a vanilla slice these days. 8/10

Dimensions: Very high, too high for me to bite holding vertically. It would need to be approached sideways. There’s a reason why the majority of vanilla slices aren’t high, and (in my opinion) anyone who thinks this is a good selling point is fooling themselves. 3/10

Custard: Vanilla flavour, firm but not too gelatinous. A fork slices through the custard without the custard becoming sloppy. 9/10

Icing: Too sweet and goopy. Unpleasant. 2/10

Pastry: Thick and soggy. The pastry also dehisced from the custard too easily. 1/10

Overall score: 4.6/10

Lunch

The last of the bolar roast

Tea

Pumpkin soup with Spam, rye sourdough croutons, and a slice of rye sourdough with cultured butter

The soup was delicious and had amazing mouthfeel. The combination of the Spam and crusty, crispy croutons was fantastic.