Carla Hall shares a recipe for Halloween-themed Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Smart and tasty! A celebrity chef Carla Hall‘s Roasted Pumpkin Soup gets Us in our fall mood — and it tastes as good as it looks.

“Sugar pumpkins aren’t just for pies anymore. [You can] turn them into a perfectly portioned dinner right before trick-or-treating or that costume party,” Halloween Baking Championship the judge, 58, reveals in the latest issue of the magazine Us Weekly the creative way in which he presents his festive soup.

Hall’s version of baked pumpkin soap—which serves four—is poured into delicate sugar pumpkins that are decorated to resemble a carved lantern. The recipe also features tomatoes and herbs to “balance out the Halloween booty that’s sure to come later,” she notes.

After a celebrated career as a professional chef, v Chew cohost competed on Bravo’s Top Chef in 2008 and shared her philosophy of “cooking with love”. The Soul Food by Carla Hall: Everyday and Celebration the author later went on to compete Top Chef: All Stars in 2010, just before joining Chew round table. Despite her ever-expanding resume, the Tennessee native works to prepare meals that bring her joy.

“I love comfort food that reminds me of family, especially recipes passed down to me from my grandmother, who had Alzheimer’s,” Hall exclusively said. Us in December 2019. “Every meal shared at the table with good friends and family is a memorable meal.”

Keep scrolling to learn how to make Hall’s Roasted Pumpkin Soup in time for Halloween and download the latest issue Us Weekly for even more holiday inspiration:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, medium diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 celery stalks, medium cubes

1 large late harvest tomato

4 sprigs of thyme

2 sprigs of rosemary

1 cup parsley, leaves only

3 teaspoons of salt, divided

1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided

2 ½ cups chicken stock

¼ cup heavy cream

4 sugar pumpkins (2-3 lbs each)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Melt the butter and olive oil in a medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, celery, tomatoes and herbs. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 2 teaspoons of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper and chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, remove from the heat, stir in the cream and set aside.

3. Prepare the pumpkins as if you were making lanterns, cut them off, reserve the top and remove the seeds.

4. Season the inside of each pumpkin with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Ladle the soup into the pumpkins, discarding the thyme and rosemary sprigs as you go. Place pumpkin caps on each pumpkin. Bake on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy cleanup) for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until tender when pierced with a knife.

5. When serving, scrape the roasted pumpkin flesh with a ladle to get great pumpkin flavor in every bite.