Fun with pumpkin

[Bettestress]

I want to try and make a pumpkin soup, and thought modifying the following Rachael Ray dish would be fun.
I'd first cut this in half, or even quarter it. Batch is too large for me! lol. Cut the flour of course, and replace honey with a packet of Splenda. Should I replace the flour with flax seed meal? I think that could work. Couldn't have that relish (maybe folks in maintainence could) exactly, but maybe a variation on it? with jicama maybe?



Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-Apple Relish
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
1 fresh bay leaf
2 ribs celery with greens, finely chopped (save time and purchase celery already washed, trimmed and
cut into sticks, this makes chopping fast work)
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or 2 teaspoons ground thyme
2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste
6 cups chicken stock
1 (28-ounce) can cooked pumpkin puree
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Relish:
1 crisp apple, such as McIntosh or Granny Smith, finely chopped
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions
Heat a medium soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Add the oil and
melt the butter. Add bay, celery, and onion. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook 6 or 7 minutes, until tender. Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce, to taste, then cook flour a minute. Whisk in chicken stock and bring liquid to a bubble. Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate it into the broth. Simmer soup 10 minutes to thicken a bit then add in cream and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

While soup cooks, assemble the relish: combine apple, onion, lemon juice, cranberries, chili powder, honey and cinnamon.

Adjust seasonings in soup and relish and serve soup in shallow bowls with a few spoonfuls of relish.

[not2late]

Re: Fun with pumpkin

No need to use flour at all. Skip the part about the flour. Add only half of the stock and simmer the onion and celery until it is very, very soft. Then puree it in a blender. Return the pureed mixture to the pot. Add the pumpkin puree and enough stock to get it to almost the thickness you want---remember you'll still have to add the heavy cream, which will water it down a bit.

As for the relish, use jicama and keep the red onion, lemon juice, chili powder and cinnamon and ditch the rest of it.

[Bettestress]

Re: Fun with pumpkin

Sounds good to me. Rung 1 starting to look like a breeze.

[brandywine1241]

Re: Fun with pumpkin

I made the soup yesterday and it's quite good. A very different way of having pumpkin for me. I mixed 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum with the pumpkin to replace the flour and it turned out nicely thick. I like the celery and onion chopped up in the soup to give it texture.