Pumpkin Soup

Dear Lovely,

In October of 2009, I decided to host a Witch’s Brunch for my friends. I was pregnant with James, and needed something fun to focus on to help me pass the time. Perhaps I’ll do an entire post about hosting Witch’s Brunch sometime—is this something you would be interested in???—but for today, I want to share with you the star of the show, Pumpkin Soup.

This recipe was originally written specifically for me by Chef Robert Lyford, co-founder of Patina Green and current co-founder/co-owner of East End Salvage. This recipe has more ingredients than most of mine, but it is the best pumpkin soup recipe I’ve ever tasted, so I believe everything Chef Robert included is completely necessary and worth the effort.

Although I’ve altered a few of his amounts over the years, I’ve kept the method and ingredient list the same. This recipe makes a very large amount, so I love to fill mason jars and deliver to my neighbors to be a bright spot in their day. When I dropped a jar off earlier, one of my neighbors told me his mother was on Hospice. Bless. We don’t know what people are going through until we ask, until we show up. Checking in on neighbors, taking a jar of soup, or even just a quick text allows you to be Light in someone’s life who just may need it. Random acts of kindness not only feel good to us, but feel good to the person you bless.

Ingredients and Directions for the croutons:

• 1 French baguette, cut into ½” cubes

• butter

  • Fry the bread cubes in butter until golden brown; set aside. Divide into two batches. One batch will be used in the soup, and the other used for garnish.

Ingredients and Directions for the soup:

• 4 TBS butter

• 2 cups onions, small dice

• 2 ½ cups leeks, small dice

• 2 ¼ cups carrots, small dice

• (4) 15 oz cans of pumpkin

• 1 butternut squash, medium dice

• 5 quarts chicken stock

• 1 ½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp white pepper

• 1 tsp ground allspice

• 1 tsp ground ginger

• Nutmeg grated, optional

  • Heat butter in large soup pot over moderately low heat. (I use my largest pot because you will need to use an immersion blender, and nothing is worse than using too small of a pot and things overflowing.)

  • Add onions, leeks, and carrots. Sweat until half cooked. Do not let them brown.

  • Add squash, stock, seasonings, and half of browned bread from above. Mix well. Then add canned pumpkin and stir to combine. Simmer until vegetables are tender.

  • Purée with an immersion blender.

  • Bring soup back to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Ingredients and Directions for garnish:

• 2 large tart, firm apples

• 2 TBS butter

• 3 TBS brown sugar

• 1 ½ cups heavy cream (optional)

  • Peel and core the apples. Cut into small dice.

  • Heat the butter in a sauté pan and add apples and brown sugar. Cook over moderate heat until apples are brown and carmelized.

  • At service, heat heavy cream in a small saucepan.

  • For each portion, ladle the soup into a broad soup bowl. Decorate the top of the soup with a swirl of the heated cream, a generous tablespoon of cooked apples, and a crouton. Enjoy!