Pap Steve’s Ketchikan Campfire Curried Pumpkin–Goat Cheese Soup

The night six bearded salmon slayers forgot how to talk
PapSteveReviews.com – December 2025

Picture this: pouring rain on a gravel beach outside Ketchikan, Alaska. There is a float-plane tied to a spruce tree, a campfire hissing under a tarp, and six soaked fishermen who’d been bragging about their limit of cohos all afternoon. Then Hank, our grizzled bush-pilot and cook, pulls a sugar pumpkin out of the cooler, chunks ’em up with onions and a whole fistful of garlic, roasts everything on a beat-up sheet pan right on the campfire grate until it’s blistered and smoky-sweet, dumps it in a pot with nothing more than a heavy dose of curry powder, a kick of red pepper flakes, and a splash of stock.

At the very end he cracks open a log of goat cheese and stirs it in until the whole pot turns into orange velvet. One slurp each and the only sound was rain hitting the tarp and spoons scraping tin bowls. I’ve never heard that crew shut up so fast in my life. I’ve been making this soup the same way ever since – one sheet pan, one pot, deep roasted pumpkin flavor, big curry punch, and that tangy, creamy goat-cheese finish that makes you want to lick the ladle.

Serves: 6 regular people or 4 half-drowned Alaskan fishermen
Total time: About 1 hour (mostly hands-off)

Ingredients

• 2–2½ lbs fresh sugar pumpkin or kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1½-inch chunks
• 1 large (or 2 medium) yellow or purple onions (or both), peeled and cut into thick wedges
• 8 big garlic cloves, peeled
• 3–4 Tbsp olive oil
• Kosher salt & fresh cracked black pepper
• 3 heaping Tbsp good curry powder (hot Madras is my go-to because I like the hot and creamy contrasting flavor profile)
• ½–1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (bring the heat)
• 4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable)
• 6 oz soft goat cheese (chevre), crumbled (keep a little extra for the top)
• Big squeeze of fresh lime at the end (my only cheat—cuts the richness perfectly)

Garnish (make it rain)

• Extra goat cheese crumbles
• Toasted pumpkin seeds
• Chopped chives or green onions
• Hot sauce on the table—non-negotiable

Pap Steve’s Dead-Simple Instructions

1. Fire the oven to 425°F. Throw pumpkin chunks, onion wedges, and garlic cloves on a big sheet pan. Douse with olive oil, hit it hard with salt and pepper, and roast 35–45 minutes, flipping once. You want dark, caramelized edges—that’s where the magic lives.
2. Scrape every last bit (veggies + all the golden oil) into a soup pot over medium heat. Shower it with the curry powder and red pepper flakes, stir 45–60 seconds until your kitchen smells like a spice market.
3. Pour in the stock, bring to a lazy simmer, and let it roll 10 minutes.
4. Blend until it’s smoother than a fresh leader line. Immersion blender is fastest; regular blender works—just vent the lid.
5. Drop the heat to low, stir in the goat cheese a handful at a time until it melts into pure creamy heaven. Taste, adjust salt/curry/heat, then hit it with lime.
6. Ladle into bowls while it’s screaming hot. Top with more goat cheese, a fistful of toasted pepitas, chives, and stand back.

Pap Steve’s Field Notes

• Double it on purpose. Leftover soup + peanut butter + shrimp = the curried pumpkin goat cheese peanut shrimp noodle dish I posted previously.
• Butternut squash swaps in perfectly when pumpkins are gone.
• Splash of heavy cream or coconut milk at the end never hurt anybody.
• Freezes for months—perfect for the next rainy day.

Still the quietest campfire I’ve ever sat around.
Thanks for the recipe, Hank. Wherever you’re flying tonight, save me a bowl.

Now get that oven roaring.
– Pap Steve 🔥
PapSteveReviews.com