Sunday, November 8, 2009

Pumpkin Bisque






INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Medium Sweet Onion, quartered
1 Carrot
2 Stalks Celery, chopped
3 Cloves Garlic
4 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock
2 Medium Tomatoes
2 Bay Leaves*
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
2 Teaspoon Fresh Ginger
2 Cups Pumpkin Puree
1 Cup Heavy Cream
2 Salted Tablespoons Butter
Salt & Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Saute onion, celery, carrot and garlic in stock pot with olive oil and sauté until carmelized (beginning to brown).

2 - Deglaze with a little of the chicken stock by pouring in and scraping up all the yummy, flavorful bits.

3 - Add remainin ingredients, except cream and butter, or at this point you can move it to a crock pot and let it do the work for you.

4 - If cooking in crock pot, allow to cook on low for about eight hours. If preparing on stovetop, cook for about an hour or until all veggies are soft.

5 - After veggies are soft, stir in cream and butter.

6 - TAKE OUT BAY LEAVES and Run through blender or use hand blender to puree. You can strain for a lighter, silkier texture but I usually do not bother with that step.

~ Serve with toasted pumpkin seeds and crusty pumpkernickel bread! ~



*This year, due to late frost, my herbs were alive much later so I used a bouquet garni in the place of bay leaves. The results were good.

HEALTH NOTE:
I have made this without the cream and replaced it with 2% milk and/or coconut milk; both alternatives offer great results. You can also omit the butter altogether, too. As is, this soup is rich, I eat a very small serving of it anyway and I feel like it is worth every last bit of the fat (it is low in calories). See nutritional info, below.



Nutritional data calculated for a 1 cup serving. Recipe makes eleven, 1 cup servings.




2 comments:

  1. I should have made this today, but I made another recipe because I had more of the stuff on hand...it was a spicy thai version to which I added apples and ginger...sweeter than I was in the mood for, but everybody else liked it. Should have made yours...

    BEAUTIFUL photo! (this is susan...I can't remember my google password so it might come up as "dylan")

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  2. I love that Dylan is so involved in food! Even if it is her mother speaking through her :)

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