Decadent Pumpkin Soup

By Deep Silver

This creamy pumpkin soup is my fave crowd pleaser for Thanksgiving each year!  Because our family is so big, there is just not enough time to go around the table and say our individual thanks without our food getting cold. I serve this soup as a starter and while we sip it’s decadence, all 32 of us do our traditional Thanksgiving speeches.  

This recipe features Ark of Taste all star, Piment d'Espelette from Piment d'Ville. The Piment d’Espelette probably derived from a Mexican variety. Fascinated by the biodiversity of the New World, 16th-century explorers brought new plants back to Europe, where they had never been seen before. The cultivation of peppers spread to most of the farms in the Pays Basque, due to the region’s favorable climate. It is a staple today of Basque region cooking. Piment d'Ville is sown from the same seeds but grown sustainably in the tiny town of Boonville, California.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 
•  1 med size leek sliced
•  ½  tablespoon cumin
• ¼  teaspoon nutmeg 
•  1/8 teaspoon Piment d’Ville pepper
•  About 2 cups Roasted Pumpkin cubes or One 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
• A small bunch of fresh sage, roughly chopped
•  3 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth 
•  1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
•  Kosher salt
•  Crème fraîche + Piment d’Ville pepper + Sweet & Spice Pepitas, for garnish 

Directions:

1. In a large heavy bottom pot, melt the butter over medium heat.

2. Once the butter is just beginning to brown, add the leeks and sauté for 5 minutes.

3. Add the fresh sage, PDV pepper, nutmeg and cook for 3 minutes.

4. Add the pumpkin puree/cubes and broth, stir to incorporate, season with salt and bring to a boil.

5. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Stir in the cream and let cool for 10 minutes.

6. Transfer the soup to a blender (or use an immersion blender in the pot) and puree until smooth. If needed, add additional broth to reach desired consistency.

7. Return the mixture back into pot and let it simmer again, especially if you added in more broth.

8. Serve warm and drizzle with crème fraîche, sweet & spicy pepitas and another dash of the Piment d’Ville pepper for a little more kick.   Enjoy!