Rifling through the freezer today, I found a couple of Ziploc bags of kabocha pumpkin that I had roasted and pureed. Kabocha is a little gnarly green pumpkin with very sweet slightly grainy flesh. It’s flavor is intensified by roasting and I like to keep some cooked in the freezer for risotto, soup, or quick bread.
Tonight, I’m making a very traditionally and simply seasoned pumpkin soup.
Kabocha Pumpkin Soup
Tools you’ll need–
Knife
Cutting board
Soup pot- about 3 quarts
Spoon or spatula to stir
Immersion blender or regular blender
Ingredients–
2 cups roasted kabocha
1 stalk of celery minced
½ yellow onion, minced
1 shallot, minced
6 dried sage leaves, chopped or ground
Dash of cayenne
1 tablespoon of butter and a splash of olive oil
Chicken stock- I used about 2 cups
Cream or half and half- I used about 4 tablespoons
Salt
Technique-
Start by mincing all of the aromatic vegetables, celery, onion, and shallot; meanwhile, melt the butter and olive oil in the soup pot. Add all of the minced vegetables and the chopped or ground sage, a dash of cayenne, and a nice pinch of salt and sweat it slowly over low heat until everything is soft. Add the pumpkin and about half of the chicken stock. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes to infuse the flavor of the aromatics into the pumpkin and stock. Check the consistency and add enough of the additional stock to make a fairly loose mixture; add the cream of half and half. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, process the soup until it is very smooth. Check the seasoning for salt.
A bowl of this rich saffron-colored sweet and savory soup is incredibly satisfying with a little Brie grilled cheese alongside. We had licked-clean bowls at our house.
Cognitive Leeks 