This starter is inspired by the cookbook Vitalité Gourmande: les secrets de l’Alimentation vive written by Françoise De Keuleneer and Pol Grégoire.
In this book, the recipes of Belgian chef Pol Grégoire, who sadly passed away in 2024, are inspiring, unexpected, easy to prepare, and very healthy. With him, the plate was always pretty, cheerful, and colorful. His approach to food emphasized fresh and unprocessed ingredients, low-temperature cooking, raw sauces, and biogenic complements such as sprouted seeds, seaweed, and young shoots.
A self-taught cook, he was much loved in Brussels and had his restaurant in the Ixelles district..
PUMPKIN AND SQUASH SOUP IN THE STYLE OF POL GRÉGOIRE
16 November 2025
: 8 - 10 people
: 30 min
: 25 min
: 55 min
: EASY
Utensils : a steamer or steam oven, a saucepan, a skillet, a blender/food processor
Ingredients
- 1 small red kuri squash (potimarron)
- 1 small pumpkin/squash1 celery root (celeriac)
- 2 medium onions
- 5 cloves garlic
- 80 g (2.8 oz) sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 tbsp white almond cream (almond purée)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) soy sauce or tamari
- 5 peppercorns
Directions
- Step 1 Start by soaking the sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl of cold water. Gather all the ingredients and wash the vegetables thoroughly.
- Step 2 Cut the squash and red kuri into wedges, then into evenly sized chunks, removing the seeds and skin. Peel the celeriac and onions and cut them into pieces. Cook everything with the peppercorns at 85 °C in a steam oven for 25 minutes (or 20 minutes if using a stovetop steamer basket). While cooking, peel the garlic cloves, remove the sprouts, and set aside. Once the vegetables are cooked, transfer them into the blender with their cooking water and the peppercorns. Add the garlic cloves, rehydrated tomatoes with their soaking water, almond cream, olive oil, and soy sauce. Blend until smooth (work in two batches if necessary). Add a little boiling water if the soup is too thick. Taste and adjust with extra soy sauce and ground pepper if needed. Reheat gently without boiling, and serve in warm bowls.
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