Autumn is, without a doubt, my favourite time of year---even though it unfortunately seems to often last about two weeks at most around where I live. A large part of this love is to do with pumpkins---and more specifically, all the great things that can be done with them. If I'm having a particularly good year, I seem to find some new way pumpkin can be incorporated into things that I hadn't thought of previously: the first time, it was pumpkin soup; the second, pumpkin cake (with dark chocolate sauce to spoon over). Last year, it was pumpkin cappuccino which I swear was some of the best flavoured coffee-inspired beverage I've ever had.
Today, however, is all about the soup. This soup was inspired by a mad search to try to recreate this fantastic pumpkin soup that one of my first bosses had as a family recipe that she always made every autumn, which her dad had made for her when she was little. This isn't the same, but it's still quite good. I hope you enjoy it. The end goal of this soup is to have a bit of warmth to it provided by spice, but it is not meant to be spicy; it is meant to be creamy and soothing. It is not meant to light a fire in one's belly; rather, it is meant to bring a similar sort of warm, toasty, comfortable feeling to the one a nice warm bowl of oatmeal on a winter morning usually brings. As always, keep tasting this soup and adjust the spices to what your tongue tells you.
TIME REQUIREMENT: at least an hour. As with most soups, however, the flavour would be more cohesive the longer you leave it to simmer over low heat. Experiment and see what works best for you.
INGREDIENTS:
* 1 29 oz. can of pure pumpkin (approximately 3 c. chopped fresh pumpkin can work, too, but you'll have a bit more work to do to get the soup to turn quite as creamy. This is an instance where the canned item really is not so bad, and is in many ways preferable.)
* 2.5 c. tart apple; cored, peeled, and chopped into small pieces. (Granny Smith is a good option here, although another apple similar in flavour and texture would work as well.)
* 1 large or 2 medium-sized sweet onions, chopped (Walla Walla or Vidalia are again among your best bets)
* 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed.
* 4 c. of your favourite broth, plus more as needed.
* 1 c. cream, half-and-half, or whole milk (or more, if you desire)
* 1-2 tbsp. fresh tarragon (halve the amount if using dried)
* cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, salt, curry powder, and black pepper to taste
* corn starch (if necessary)
PREPARATION:
Heat a large pot over med-high heat until reasonably hot; melt a couple tablespoons of butter (or enough to cover the bottom of the pot) in it. Next, add your crushed garlic and chopped onion and sautee until soft and translucent. (If using fresh pumpkin, add it around the same time you add the onion and wait a bit longer before adding liquids; you'll want to let the pumpkin soften.) Add the apple; continue to stir and allow to sautee for a few minutes, until the apples seem a bit softer and slightly shiny. Next, add the pumpkin (if using canned), making sure to turn the heat down slightly and stir constantly to prevent burning. After a couple of minutes, add the broth. Stir until the broth is fully incorporated and playing nicely with all the other ingredients in the pot; add tarragon, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, curry, salt, and/or pepper. Lid. Monitor pot to make sure the soup is not boiling over; mostly ignore for about half an hour.
Unlid, stir, add cream, and stir some more. Taste again and adjust as needed. Soup should be edible any time after this; if you'd like, garnishing it with something leafy and green (such as parsley or cilantro or perhaps some chives) is a nice touch. Works well as a side dish or a meal unto itself---as with most soups. You may also want to experiment with other spices---really, it's all about finding what works best for you, and what makes the pumpkin come alive. If you feel especially creative, you could of course try hollowing out small-to-medium pumpkins and using them as bowls for this soup, too!