When I heard we were doing a SacFoodies Thanksgiving potluck, I knew I had to bring my all-time favorite T-Day dish…my mom’s Portuguese-Style Thanksgiving. But since I’ve shared this recipe twice on the blog, I thought it was time to venture out of my comfort zone and try something new. I love soup and my favorite “theme” we’ve done thus far has definitely been our Soup Series, so I knew that’s what I wanted to prepare for our feast. But finding a recipe that hit the flavor profile I was looking for wasn’t happening. I wanted something that was sweet, spicy, smoky and had some added texture and crunch – all in one spoonful. So, I took matters into my own hands and created the following recipe using techniques I’ve used in preparing other favorite soup recipes over the years. I like my soup with a little kick, but for a more mild flavor, just add less cayenne pepper.
Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients
1/2 pound bacon, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
29 ounces chicken stock
2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 1/2 cups canned cooked pumpkin
4 cups half-and-half
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 – 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup crème fraiche
Freshly snipped chives
Directions
In a large pot, cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pot, leaving bacon fat in the pot, and set aside. Add chopped onions and saute over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add stock, potatoes and pumpkin and cook until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Puree using an immersion blender (or blend in batches in a blender or food processor and return to pot) until smooth. Add the half-and-half, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and heat through.
When serving, add a dollop of crème fraiche, crisp chopped bacon and freshly snipped chives.
Makes 12 servings
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