Okay, I’ve waited long enough. I’ve patiently stood by and kept my mouth shut while other food bloggers posted stunning pictures and recipes of all things pumpkin. But you see, to me each month has something special about it (okay, maybe not January). A vegetable, fruit or flower that comes alive during its reign, a holiday that it plays host to. October is no exception. With it’s spectacularly beautiful changing leaves and orchards ripe with apples and pears, to me this is the essence of this first full month of autumn.
Only towards the end of October when Halloween comes into focus should, in my humble opinion, pumpkins be celebrated. Which is also the perfect transition to November and my favorite holiday of all time, Thanksgiving.
When I got married 32 years ago, my husband and I began hosting Thanksgiving in our home. Our first celebration took place in a tiny one bedroom apartment where we had to remove a good amount of our living room furniture in order to set up a table for our family and friends. A year later, we had just moved in to our new home where we hosted so many people that we had to custom order a turkey so large that my three year old niece mistook it for a pig. Fast forward a few years later, sleep deprived, we hosted a much smaller event which included two special additions to our family, our twin daughters.
With every year, it seems things changed a bit. Sometimes we were a large group, other years there were just a few of us around the table. We sometimes lost someone we loved to death or illness or we gained new family members or friends. But, without fail, we always gathered at our home and we built and expanded traditions that would stay with us for years to come. And, of course, many of those traditions revolved around food.
Every year I look through all my cookbooks, on-line posts and ancient copies of Bon Appetite magazines (of which I have hundreds) to find new and interesting recipes that I can try out for Thanksgiving. But one recipe that has been a constant presence in my home is pumpkin soup.
My family LOVES appetizers so our dinner usually starts with a huge amount of snacks to get the party started. This is where I’m usually permitted to make some menu changes. Everything else has been deemed by my family to be a part of the tradition and very few changes are tolerated without a significant amount of whining or complaining. Part of this tradition is pumpkin soup which we sit down to after the appetizers have been adequately picked over and dinner is ready to be served.
Originally handed to me on a scrap piece of paper from my hair stylist (almost thirty years ago), the recipe for this soup has undergone so many changes that it (just like me) barely resembles the younger version of itself. Every year, I would tweak it slightly until I achieved something that we know and love. Warm notes of cinnamon, cardomon, allspice are the essence of fall cooking. But, add to that sherry wine, pumpkin puree and a bit of half and half and you get something truly special. And best of all, this soup comes together in under an hour, requires no complicated ingredients, reheats well and can be stored in your refrigerator for a few days, which makes it an amazing make ahead starter for your Thanksgiving celebration or anytime you’re craving a bowl of pure comfort food.
I like to serve it in small tea cups topped with a bit of creme fresh, chives and pepitas or with my Parmesan-Rosemary Biscotti. The cups make it easier to serve a crowd since I can place a bunch of them on a large serving platter rather than carrying individual bowls back and forth from the dining room and the toppings are totally optional so you can include whatever you prefer or leave them off altogether as the soup is wonderful on it’s own.
I hope that you’ll give this Pumpkin Soup recipe a whirl. If you do, please let me know what you think or tag me on Instagram. I always love hearing from everyone and seeing pictures of anything that you might make. And above all, thank you so much for stopping by.
Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tbs unsalted butter
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ⅛ tsp ground coriander
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp allspice
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon
- 3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 1 15 oz can of pure pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 1½ cups half and half
- 4 tbs pure maple syrup
- 2 tbs medium-dry sherry wine
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium soup pot over medium -low heat until melted. Add the onions and allow them to cook for about 5 minutes until they are translucent. Add the garlic, spices and cook for about one minute. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and allow the mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the pumpkin and the half and half and continue cooking for about another 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Using an emersion blender puree the soup until smooth. If you choose to use a regular blender, allow the soup to cool slightly then fill the blender no more than a third of the way before turning it on.
- Stir in the Sherry wine and maple syrup and adjust the seasonings to taste.