Pumpkin Soup

As much as I love endlessly searching for recipes on blogs across the internet, I always feel slightly guilty. I worry about food magazines and cookbooks feelings. Do they get jealous? I mean I wouldn't say the are obsolete, but with the blog world out there to give instant feedback about a recipe and include pictures that show a real result, it's hard not to go there first for a recipe. It's a sad situation.

When my mom and I are at the grocery store, we don't mind getting stuck behind a line of people when checking out. Why? We get to read food magazines. Duhh. Rachael Ray, Fine Cooking, Taste of Home, Bon Appetit, and all the greats. Every once in a while, there's one magazine that really sticks out to us and we just have to get it. This past time: Fine Cooking. There were some great desserts and main dishes and we said we would force ourselves to make them!

One recipe I knew I wanted to try was the pumpkin soup. I make so many sweet pumpkin recipes that I need to balance them out a bit with some savory ones. If I only stuck to desserts, I would be disrespecting pumpkin. I mean, pumpkin has so many diverse uses that I have to give them all a chance! Yes. I love pumpkin that much.

This recipe was super easy. Piece-o-cake. I really enjoyed the end result. Warm nummy (yummy) pumpkin soup is just perfect for a cold Fall day. It was suggested to make homemade croutons with it, and I had every intention to. But, I enjoyed the ciabatta bread as is, so I just ate it plain hehe. My mom was slightly sad since she wanted to try the croutons, but maybe another time.


Pumpkin Soup
from Fine Cooking Magazine

2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
6 cups 1-inch-diced peeled, seeded pumpkin
2 medium cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
8 medium fresh sage leaves
4 to 6 cups lower-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup packed grated Gruyère
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a heavy-duty 4- to 5-quart pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Add the wine and the sage leaves and cook, stirring, until the wine evaporates, about 5 minutes. Stir in 4 cups of broth, cover, and simmer, adjusting the heat as needed, until the pumpkin is very tender, about 25 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup of the Gruyère and using a handheld or standard blender, purée the soup (in batches, if necessary). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Return to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly and adding more broth as necessary to achieve a thin soup with the consistency of heavy cream.