Southwestern Pumpkin Soup

[nitrovixen]

I found this recipe at www.epicurious.com my favorite recipe site (not a LC site but you can find hundreds of things we can eat!) and I made it last night. My fiance said it was almost as good as the 'Soup Nazi's' Sweet potato cashew soup (Seinfeld). (That took me hours to make..this soup took me minutes) He gobbled it up last night and took the leftovers to work for lunch today! I had no coriander, so left it out but will be interested to see what I missed next time I make it.
Here is the excerpt from he site I got it from:

"The Watermark restaurant here in Cleveland is my favorite place to take out-of-town guests—and I find other excuses to go, too," writes Bob Charleton of Cleveland, Ohio. " Last time I went there, I had lunch in the Garden Room, a glassed-in space overlooking the Cuyahoga River. The highlight of the meal was an unusual pumpkin soup topped with cheddar cheese."

Surprisingly easy to make, this soup is flavored with cumin and chili powder.

SOUTHWESTERN PUMPKIN SOUP


3 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
pinch Brown sugar equivalent (I will leave this out next time)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup (packed) grated sharp cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro




Bring chicken stock and whipping cream to boil in heavy medium pot. Whisk in canned pumpkin, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, coriander and nutmeg. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until soup thickens slightly and flavors blend, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Soup can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cool. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally.) Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish each serving with cheddar cheese and cilantro and serve.

Makes 4 (first-course) servings.

[nitrovixen]

Here's another recipe I'm dying to try..


PUMPKIN-COCONUT BISQUE

This rich, silky soup has a touch of spice.

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic gloves, minced
3 cups canned solid pack pumpkin
2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
2 teaspoons Splenda
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1 1 /2 cups (about) canned unsweetened coconut milk*
Ground nutmeg

*Canned unsweetened coconut milk is sold at Indian, Southeast Asian and Latin American markets and at many supermarkets.

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Add pumpkin, broth, splenda, allspice and crushed red pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer until flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to pot. Bring soup to simmer, thinning with coconut milk to desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm soup before continuing.) Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve.

Makes 6 servings.
_

[nitrovixen]

(I got this recipe from www.topsecretrecipes.com)

Wow! This soup was SO incredibly delicious I've been trying to think of a way to get away with making it since starting the LC WOL. I am going to try substituting pumpkin for Sweet potatoes, and I'll let you all know how it goes! For now here's the original recipe for Cream of Sweet Potato soup, if anybody wants to try it or try making it a LC way. I thought about substituting macs or almonds for the cashews, but I dunno. they were so delicious I might just have to leave them in!
:yum:
Sheri J

The Soup Nazi's®
Cream of Sweet Potato Soup

____ New Yorkers have lined up around the block for years now to get a hot cup of Al Yeganeh's delicious soup at Soup Kitchen International. Many are familiar with the demands: "Pick the soup you want!", "Have your money ready!", and "Move to the extreme left after ordering!" Customers know if they don't stick to the rules, they'll be quickly scolded and may not get served; even after waiting for as long as two hours to get to the front of the line. This is precisely how the non-smiling Yeganeh was portrayed by actor Larry Thomas in Seinfeld episode number 115, when he forever became known as the "Soup Nazi."


4 sweet potatoes (about 1 pound each)
8 cups water
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons half and half
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
dash thyme
1 cup cashews (split in half)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake the sweet potatoes for 45 minutes or until they are soft. Cool the potatoes until they can be handled.

2. Peel away the skin, then put the potatoes into a large bowl. Mash the potatoes for 15-20 seconds, but you don't need to mash them until they are entirely smooth.

3. Spoon the mashed sweet potato into a large saucepan over medium/high heat, add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

4. When the soup begins to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 50-60 minutes. Cashews should be soft. Serve hot with an attitude.

Makes 6-8 servings.

[nitrovixen]

OMG guys, this is SOOO good!! I don't think you have to count the white wine in the carb count, because you boil it all away! And the celery, onion, saffron threads, sage and bay leaves are used for making the stock, then discarded.. so they don't count either. This recipe is from epicurious.com

PUMPKIN & SHRIMP BISQUE

Buttery, slightly sweet pumpkin is the perfect mate for the briny flavor of oysters, scallops, or other crustaceans. This soup is made with shrimp, whose shells are turned into an aromatic stock that serves as the soup's liquid. Classic shellfish bisques are thickened with rice, but here pumpkin provides body for the soup. Sage's earthy flavor complements both pumpkin and shrimp and steers the focus of flavor from sweet to savory.

This is a satisfying soup to prepare throughout the fall. If you serve it as a first course for Thanksgiving dinner, you might start a tradition in your family.

1 pound large shrimp (16 to 20)

Shrimp Stock
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup dry white wine
3 cups homemade or canned low-sodium chicken stock
Pinch saffron threads (about 24)
2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion (about 8 ounces), coarsely chopped
4 fresh bay laurel leaves, torn, or 2 dried
3 3-inch springs fresh sage

2 cups pumpkin purée, fresh (see Note) or canned
1/2 cup heavy cream
About 3/4 teaspoon salt, less if using canned stock
Scant 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage

1. Shrimp stock: Peel and devein shrimp, reserving the shells. Cover the shrimp and refrigerate. Heat the olive oil in a medium (3-quart) heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat until it begins to smoke. Add the shrimp shells to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until they turn deep orange and are just beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. This step—pan roasting the shells—gives the stock much of its flavor, so take the time to do it carefully. The roasted shells should release a concentrated, toasty, shrimp aroma that will fill your kitchen. Add the wine to the pan, first turning off gas flames to prevent the alcohol from igniting, then boil it over medium heat until all the liquid is evaporated. Add the chicken stock, saffron, celery, onion, bay leaves, and sage. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Partially cover the pan and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine sieve, pushing down on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract all the liquid. Rinse out the saucepan and pour the stock back into it.

2. Soup: Whisk the pumpkin, cream, salt (omit if using canned stock), and cayenne into the shrimp stock. Bring the soup to a simmer, then cook very gently uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, taste, and season with black pepper and more salt if needed. (The soup can be made up to this point up to 1 day ahead store covered in the refrigerator. Keep the peeled shrimp in a resealable bag buried in a bowl of ice in the refrigerator.)

3. Finishing the soup: Pour the olive oil into a large sauté pan placed over medium heat. When hot, add the reserved shrimp and sage and cook, tossing often, until the shrimp is just cooked through, pink, and no longer translucent, but not curled into a circle, 2 to 3 minutes. They should still have a tender snap when you bite into them. Arrange the shrimp in warmed serving bowls or a tureen. Bring the soup back to a simmer and then ladle it over the shrimp. Serve right away.

Note
To make fresh pumpkin purée, cut a sugar pumpkin in half and scrape out the seeds. Place it cut side down in a baking dish and pour in about 1/4 inch of hot water. Bake it in a 400°F oven until the flesh is tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Turn the pumpkin halves cut side up to cool. Scoop the pumpkin flesh from the skin and purée it in a food processor until smooth. Transfer the purée to a large sieve lined with a double layer of cheesecloth and let it drain for 2-3 hours until it is firm enough to hold its shape on a spoon.

Makes 8 servings.

_reviews
A Cook from Seattle, WA on 01/01/03 _
This is AWESOME!!! I will definately make this a Thanksgiving or Christmas tradition. I used canned pumpkin, since fresh was not available, next time I'd like to try fresh. I also used canned broth as a time saver...it is really pretty simple.

A Cook from Behind the Orange Curtain, CA on 12/19/02 _
This goes into my "oh, mercy" pile for soup recipes. The Herbfarm cookbook is one of my favorites, and everything I've made from it is outstanding. This is just perfect. All of his recipes are really well-written. It's so easy to roast up a sugar pumpkin, and the color and texture are so much more vibrant than anything out of a Libby's can! Definitely get shrimp in the shells; the stock won't be the same without them.

A Cook from Ashburn, VA on 12/06/02 _
I was looking for something different to try for Thanksgiving. After reading the great reviews and the recipe, it sounded like a winner. I was the only one who even liked it, everyone else pushed it away. I think I followed the directions, with the exception of adding cayenne. Lot of work, for little enjoyment.

A Cook from Boston, MA on 12/04/02 _
UNBELIEVABLE RECIPE!! I made this bisque as the first course for Thanksgiving and everyone LOVED it. My husband (who can be a somewhat finicky eater) raved about it for *days*. And, my mother-in-law (who always gives her honest opinion--like it or not) said she would make this a tradition every year. I almost passed up on buying the saffron for this dish, as I was shocked by the price ($16.99!), but surprising I found it in the organic section of my grocery store for half the cost. It did give it a really nice flavor. And, I used canned pumpkin...don't know if fresh would have been better...but to me it was worth the timesavings and the dish was just wonderful.

A Cook on 12/03/02 _
great... make sure you don't use too much cayenne though. Fresh stock and making the shrimp stock make all the difference.




_____
these counts do not count the following ingredients since they are made into stock and then discarded: celery, onion, saffron threads, 3 springs of sage (I counted the amount cooked with shrimp) and bay leaves and white wine (boiled down till dry, deglazed with chicken stock)

whole batch:
calories: 1281
Fat: 103
Sat: 36
Poly: 7
Mono: 53
Carbs: 50
Fiber: 18
Protein: 47

one serving (1/8)
calories: 160
Fat: 13
Sat: 4.5
Poly: 1
Mono: 7
Carbs: 6
Fiber: 2
Protein: 6