recipe | pumpkin soup

pumpkin soup... I should warn you that I am a stream-of-consciousness kind of cook. I have a couple of beliefs in cooking. First and foremost, always eat in season. Hence the flurry of pumpkin recipes. Secondly, make do with what you have in your pantry. And finally, if you use good, quality ingredients, how can it come out bad? So with that said, let it be known that the pumpkin soup recipe that I am about to share is something I totally winged. Truth be told, it came out delicious. Healthy, yes. But delicious.

I used the other half of the pie pumpkin that I roasted last week. Note that the Lumina pumpkin shown above is not only an attractive carving pumpkin, but it is provides super sweet eating.

Since I still have dozens of carrots still in the garden, I grab three to grate and toss into the mix. I've read some recipes where they used pears. I figured freshly-picked carrots are just as sweet. And you'll need a quick grate of nutmeg to finish this dish off.

I am also a believer in slow cooking. I think so much flavor is developed in the food we eat when we allow it to slowly meld together in the pot. For this recipe, I caramelized one medium size onion. The key to making good caramelized onions is patience. Cook on a low heat for a long time, stirring often.

a tasteful garden's pumpkin soup

serves 4 appetizer side dishes of soup

1/2 of a roasted 5lb. pie pumpkin

3 small carrots, grated

2 medium sized potatoes, diced

1 medium sized onion, diced

2T unsalted butter

4c chicken stock

1/4c white wine (I used a Pinot Grigio)

1/2c half and half

grated nutmeg to taste

kosher salt

cracked black pepper

Melt the butter in a heavy bottom saucepan. Caramelize the onions for 30 minutes over low heat until golden brown. Add wine and increase heat to medium. Boil off the wine until only the onions remain. Add the potatoes and stock and simmer for 20 minutes. Add carrots and pumpkin purée. Simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat. Use an emulsion blender to smooth out the soup. Add the half and half and spices. Return to low simmer for five minutes. Serve garnished with roasted pumpkin seeds.