Ah, on to the first course, and one of THESE best.
This soup is the concentration of fall flavors and spices. The creamy pumpkin, the spiced seeds - sweet and savory. Serving the soup in a pumpkin is an easy way to complete the dish and impress guests.
Recipe: Fall Pumpkin Soup with Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
Serves 8
Soup:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sliced onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
5 pounds Kabocha squash or Japanese pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
3 thyme sprigs
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
fine sea salt freshly ground white pepper
Garnish:
1 large pumpkin (about 12-inches in diameter)
2 tablespoons butter
fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
spiced pumpkin seeds (see recipe below)
herbed crème fraiche (see recipe below)
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic; sweat until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the squash dice and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Cover with the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cook until tender, about 30 minutes.
- While the soup is cooking, prepare the large pumpkin to serve the soup from. Remove the top of the pumping with a sharp knife in a zig-zag pattern. Scrape the seeds out and season the inside of the pumpkin with salt and pepper, add the butter and roast in the oven until tender and lightly caramelized, about 30 minutes.
- Puree in batches in a blender until satiny smooth. Pass through a fine chinois to remove any remaining lumps. Return the soup to the pot and add the cream and bring the soup to a simmer.
- Wrap the thyme sprigs, peppercorns and bay leaf in cheesecloth and close with kitchen string and add to the simmering soup. Infuse for 10 minutes. Remove the thyme bundle and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve the soup in the roasted pumpkin. Garnish with spiced pumpkin seeds and herbed crème fraiche.
Spiced pumpkin seeds:
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
¼ teaspoon cayenne
¼ teaspoon toasted ground cumin
¼ teaspoon toasted ground coriander
fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- Melt the butter in a sauté pan, add pumpkin seeds, cayenne, cumin and coriander.
- Toast the pumpkin seeds over medium heat until golden brown, stirring frequently.
Herbed Crème Fraiche:
1 cup crème fraiche
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon cut chives
1 teaspoon freshly crack black pepper
fine sea salt
- Mix all of the ingredients together.
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So, we actually made this soup 2 days ahead, on Friday night while we made our traditional Halloween Turkey Chili. I forgot my old stick blender had pooped the bed, so I had to head out to Linens N' Things to pick one up, however, since they are closing, I scored a decent deal.
I picked up a "red" one and a regular one, just for fun.
Man, what a ***** to "peel" I tried a few ways, peeling before, after, after slicing, etc.
nevertheless I got everything together for the soup!!
A money shot.
annnnnnnddd dfast forward two days later.
By far, the best course/recipe in the menu!!!