Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Potage du Rouge Vif d'Etampes


I'm still amazed that I can take a seed packet and turn it into food. It trips me out. I never really even liked pumpkins before as an edible item. I just liked the way they looked on the vine. I gave this French heirloom variety a shot, though, and I am so happy that I did. What a great pumpkin, those Cinderellas. 

     This soup is easy to make and I think you'll enjoy it a great deal, especially if you mix in some yummy croutons. You could even serve the soup in shots with a sauteed slice of leek on top. 

Potage du Rouge Vif d'Etampes 

Ingredients
4 cups pumpkin puree
6 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
5 peppercorns
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. In a large pot, sweat onions and garlic in olive oil and butter over medium-low heat.

2. Add pumpkin, chicken stock, thyme and peppercorns and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Puree soup in very small batches in blender. Return soup to the pot.

4. Add cream, salt and pepper to taste, then serve.

Notes
I made this soup using a french heirloom variety that I grew in my garden. The pumpkin - Cinderella or Rouge Vif d'etampes - has incredible floral notes and an almost cantaloupe scent.

     If you want your soup to be a bit thicker, you can reduce the soup after you've pureed it and added the cream. After you've let it simmer for a bit, you can blend the soup once more if you find the consistency has changed, if there's a bit of a film on top or if the milk solids have coagulated.

     Finally, I made the puree by halving the pumpkin, then removing the seeds. I brushed the inside with olive oil, then placed the halves on a foil-lined baking dish. I roasted the pumpkins for 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Then I increased the temperature to 425 and cooked the pumpkin halves for another 15 minutes. I let the halves cool for about an hour, then scooped out the flesh.

I garnished the soup with the Rosemary And Garlic Croutons.

6 comments:

  1. Very nice. Love seeing you post here again.

    Happy Eating & Happy Cooking.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ha! Awesome! Now you can eat the way they do at the Iron Door coaching inn. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice. I am digging the QR codes, very neat idea!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey, cool blog! The recipes look great. Would this soup be worth making if all I have is canned pumpkin puree instead of fresh?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that would work just fine. Be sure to make the Rosemary Croutons for a guaranteed win. Hmm...if you make this soup and play Hex 001, you're pretty much LARPing. Ha!

      Delete