It was sheer serendipity that we were in Amsterdam for Queen’s Day on April 30th. What a way to kick-off our week-long bike/barge tour of the Netherlands! Queen’s Day commemorates the (former) Queen’s birthday and is the most widely celebrated national holiday and, with a carnival-like atmosphere, the biggest street party in Amsterdam – much like Mardi Gras or New Year’s Eve in Times Square.
We were in good form at a club in the Liedseplein on Queen’s Night and the next day walking along with crowds of revelers meandering through the city-wide street market. Fortunately for us, we boarded our barge on Queen’s Day and the harbor was within walking distance to city centre where festivities were in full swing. Amsterdam attracts more than 700,000 visitors from all over Europe to join in the fun and, if you’re not already in the city on Queen’s Night, you’ll have to hoof it as streets are closed and trains and public transportation run on a special schedule on Queen’s Day.
Our carousing ended early and we were safely back on board the barge to be “fitted” for our bikes by late afternoon.
We met the crew: our skipper Else, who would safely navigate the many canals and locks; first mate Peter, who would later surprise us with an amazing magic show; cook extraordinaire Ellen, who had us applauding as she announced “for dinner tonight”; and the lucky man who was to be responsible for our crazy group for a week, Piet 🙂
On our first night on the barge, Ellen served up a “Queen’s Day” Pumpkin Soup that won the instant approval of all the women. I didn’t waste any time telling her that I have a food blog and would love to feature her smiling face and one of her recipes. Throughout the week, she impressed us with her delicious, flavorful soups and entrees, colorful salads full of fresh veggies , and smashing desserts. But in the end, I came back to the special Queen’s Day soup. Cooking for 25 guests and crew, she doesn’t really use recipes, but graciously jotted down the ingredients and basic instructions.
One thing that I discovered when I took the L’atelier des Chefs cooking class in Paris, is that Europeans refer to squash as “pumpkin”. This is actually a squash soup, although I don’t know what kind of squash she used. I decided to use kabocha squash because it has a rich, nutty flavor and a taste between pumpkin and sweet potato. I also roasted the squash to bring out its rich flavor and adapted the recipe to serve 6-8 instead of 25 🙂 Oh, and I always like a little heat so added some chili spice along with pungent coriander.
Queen’s Day Pumpkin Soup
1 large Kabocha squash (about 2½ lbs.)
6 carrots (about 1 lb.), chopped
½ cup olive oil, divided use
1 tablespoon Melissa’s organic chili blend or similar
1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 cup white wine
1-2 cups cream
Garnish: Sliced raw almonds and crumbled feta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut the squash in quarters, use a spoon to scoop out the seed and stringy stuff. Combine olive oil and spice blend. Brush flesh of the squash with olive oil mixture. Place on rimmed cookie sheet and bake for about 45 minutes until flesh is easily pierced with a fork. Remove from oven. Cool and, using a large spoon, scrape flesh away from the skin. Coarsely chop.
While squash is roasting, heat ¼ cup of olive oil in a large saucepan or stock pot over medium heat. Saute the carrots for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chopped onions and saute for another 3 minutes until onion is softened. Stir in the garlic, saute for another 1-2 minutes. Mix in the squash and coriander.
Add the wine and vegetable broth. Turn heat up to med-high and bring to a boil. Lower heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes to meld the flavors. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Spoon soup into a blender and puree. Add salt and pepper to taste. Soup can be prepared to this point 1 day in advance. (I divided the soup and froze half for next week.)
Return to saucepan, reheat, and stir in cream. Serve immediately. Garnish with sliced almonds and crumbled feta cheese (optional).
Enjoy 🙂
Thank you, Ellen! If you’re ever in the Netherlands and require the services of a talented and lovely personal chef, contact Ellen through her website.
You timed your trip to Amsterdam right- how fun to experience the Queen’s Day celebration. Looks like you had a fabulous trip and I love this soup recipe.
I want to get more info on your barge trip as we are planning a trip to Amsterdam this Fall, hoping it won’t be too cold. Beautiful photos Priscilla, hope you’re enjoying your weekend, Patty
Thanks, Patty! It was sooo much fun! I’m going back with hubs one day. We used CycleTours and I would recommend them – I’ll shoot you an email. They do other barge tours that don’t include cycling 🙂
Note: if your a Subscriber – I hit “publish” last night and then realized that I had forgotten to include the 1 T. coriander and put 1/2 cup cream (instead of 1-2 cups) since I divided the soup to freeze half. This is what happens when you don’t write things down right away!
My only trip to Amsterdam was to attend this event (a looooooong time ago). Your photos make me want to return. The soup may have to suffice! GREG
Now you are making me want to go to Amsterdam even more! This soup looks absolutely stunning and I bet it tasted supreme. Great photos – felt like I was there. 🙂
Your photos look FANTASTIC!!
You got me at kabocha! I love it and it has such wonderful flavor. Looks like you had an amazing time and now you have a soup to remember it by! YUM!
this looks amaizing!! thank you for sharing this:)
The pumpkin soup looks so mouthwatering..oh man…love the vibrant deep orange colour of the soup.
You take the best trips, Priscilla. Can I come? This soup recipe is a great souvenir.
What an amazing trip and story about how you got this delish recipe! Your pics from amsterdam make me want to travel to Europe again soon! For now I will try this soup. LOL Thanks Priscilla!
What a fun time to be Amsterdam. I’ve never been and some friends and I have been toying with the idea of visiting that part of Europe. Your pictures have me hoping that this happens soon! The biking portion of your trip sounds especially appealing to me. 🙂
I smiled when you said that you wasted no time in letting Ellen know that you were a food blogger–I know that I would have done the same, LOL! She seems like a sweet person and now we get to enjoy what she served you. 🙂
Enjoy your Sunday, Priscilla!
@Jean – You should definitely go! I’d like to try a cycling/wine tour next. Wonder how that works though – it would be risky for me to be on a bike after a few wineries 😉
Thanks everyone! If nothing else, this blog will serve as a memoir of my life’s adventures in and out of the kitchen. Glad to share them with you 🙂
Priscilla, beautiful post. The soup looks divine and your adventures continue to intrigue!
wow! great photos! this soup looks wonderful!
I finally managed to get up on your posts!! It looks like you had an amazing time !!! I loved the photo of you eating the herring in the “traditional” manner! Good for you that you got the recipe for the soup – I love these types of soups and I can tell that I would love this one!!
Oh my yumminess!! Where’s my spoon?!
What a great experience! I’m so glad you were able to get the recipe and recreate it at home. Now you will always remember Queen’s Day in Amsterdam when you make it 🙂
delicious looking soup
lovely pictures looks like lots of fun
What a fun time you had…by the way, why don’t you take me on such adventures? Never mind I know the answer, lol. And this soup is just delightful as well as your photos 🙂
P.S. Gorgeous presentation too!
Oh such a festive event! What a wonderful experience you had. I wish I could have been there. I can’t wait to give this soup a try. Thank you so much for sharing this deliciousness…I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow. Hugs from Austin!
What a fun experience with the Queen’s Day celebration! And the soup looks absolutely fantastic!
Looks like such a fun celebration and a delicious soup! Love how you used kabocha, I bet it was fantastic!
What a lovely photos, and great soup..I love the presentation and the recipe!!!
Thanks you for sharing your experience!!!!
It looks like a Mardis Gras type of party to me! We have been wanting to go to Amsterdam, so I will have to make plans to do that someday for sure. It looks like a beautiful and very fun city.
I can tell that your trip to the Netherlands will forever hold special memories for you…how wonderful it that!? Thanks for adapting this colorful soup…I just wanted to dig into the screen with my spoon 🙂