Yesterday found me outside placing many leaves in beds before the rains came. I almost got done, but the rain started sooner than I had hoped. Along with the rain the weather turned cold and so the day called for not only a cup of tea, a fire in the fireplace, but a bowl of hot soup to warm my belly.
It's time for a great harvest soup with pumpkin, ....don't you think? Here's one of my favorites. Know that you can substitute the chicken stock with vegetable stock for a complete vegetarian meal.
Pumpkin Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 1 onion
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 celery stick peeled and chopped
- 4 cups of chicken broth
- 1 container of mushrooms
- 1 large leek or two small ones
- 3 cups of pumpkin puree fresh or canned
- 16 oz of half and half
- ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- 1 ½ salt
- 1 tsp of pepper
- 1 tsp of lemon juice
- 1 to 2 tsp of chopped thyme
Preparation:
- In a large stockpot, melt 1 tbsp of olive oil and butter over medium heat.
- Once melted, add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery, and cook for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
- Add 2 cups of chicken broth and let simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the stockpot from the heat and let cool for 15 minutes.
- Pour the broth mixture into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Set this aside.
- In the stockpot you were just using, melt the remaining olive oil and butter.
- Add the mushrooms and leeks, cooking them for about 6 minutes or until the mushrooms start to brown.
- Mix the puree, pumpkin, remaining broth, half and half, pepper, red pepper flakes. Let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the lemon juice, salt and thyme and let simmer for another 10 minutes.
