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| Pumpkin Soup |
We had a substantial garden behind the Main Street house in Bakersfield where I grew up.
My parents planted corn, peas, radishes, tomatoes, carrots, pumpkins, squash, and gourds. The later three were always too close together because we wound up with “squmpkins.”
(Don’t get me going on the ‘using child labor for weeding’. I’m just getting over that!)
Squmpkin!
That’s what I thought my husband Dan had purchased from Plum Hill Farm at one of the last outdoor farmer’s markets.
It was the color of a Hubbard squash, but the exact shape of Cinderella’s pumpkin coach.
“Is this a squash or a pumpkin?” I asked Dan.
“I don’t know. I think it is French.”
I stifled a retort about the two of us being French, and that he was not really being helpful.
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| My Squmpkin |
Nevertheless, I baked it whole in the oven, until a butter knife pierced the exterior without any force.
It was extremely fleshy and the flavor was fantastic.
I had an idea to highlight that sweet baked note and make a soup – but not just any ordinary soup.
Nutty Vermonter Pumpkin Soup!
The result was so intense and complex that it overwhelmed as a main, it became more of an appetizer – or an amuse.
The variety of the pumpkin? My best guess is Musquee de Provence.
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| Pumpkin Soup |
1 Cup, Serves 2-4 as an appetizer
2 Cups Chicken Broth, reduced to ½ Cup
¼ Cup Roasted Pumpkin
1 TB Nutty Vermonter Maple Chipotle Nut Butter * (soy-free)
¼ Cup Half and Half
Salt to taste
Garnish: Sour
Cream
Place reduction and cooked pumpkin in a small saucepan on
“low” and bring to a simmer.
Stir in nut butter.
Cover pan and remove from heat.
Let cool 20 - 30 minutes.
Place in blender and process until smooth. Return to pan.
Set heat to “low”. At the simmer, add half and half and
remove from heat once more.
Taste; adjust for salt.
Serve with sour cream.
* Peanut butter and Sriracha will substitute, as will N.V.
Ginger Nut Butter.
