Jamaican Pumpkin Soup

• 3 Spanish onions, diced
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 fresh green or red jalapeno or serrano chili (or 1/2 Jamaican Scotch bonnet chili), minced
• 1 large white yam, peeled and diced
• 1/2 calabaza (Jamaican pumpkin) or a 10-pound regular pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced
• 2 quarts vegetable or chicken stock
• Approximately 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, to taste
• Approximately 1 tablespoon sugar, to taste
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped
• 3 scallions, sliced thin

1. In a large stock pot, soften the onions, celery, ginger and garlic in the peanut oil.
2. Add the allspice, nutmeg, turmeric and chili and cook three to five minutes longer.
3. Add the diced yam and pumpkin, along with the vegetable stock, and bring to a boil.
4. Simmer, covered, until tender (about 20 minutes).
5. Season to taste with salt and sugar.
6. Puree half the soup in a food processor and return it to the stock pot.
7. Heat through.
8. Just before serving, garnish it with the cilantro, mint and scallions.

onions, stalks celery, fresh ginger, garlic, peanut oil, ground allspice, ground nutmeg, turmeric, fresh green, white yam, calabaza, vegetable, coarse sea salt, sugar, cilantro, mint, scallions

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/768 (may not work)