Everyone I know in the western world makes a pumpkin soup. I like pumpkin soup when it has a varied texture. Most I have tasted has only one dimension to it. So, I have taken Kurtis Stone’s pumpkin soup and simplified it. I did the parsnip cream, but did not smoke it.
I reduced the cooking time in general, and realized if you use a really good blender, you don’t need to sieve the soup. Also added a dried bacon/gamon for that crunch.
pumpkin soup
Ingredients:
Pumpkin Soup:
600 g Kent Pumpkin, cut into 3 cm cubes
1 cup Stock
1 tsp Olive Oil
2 Shallots (finely diced)
Parsnip Cream:
1 Parsnip (core removed, cut into 3cm cubes) or 1 large Potato
20g Butter
50 ml Cream
50 ml Milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
A few pieces of gamon or bacon
Method:
- Place the gamon or bacon between two sheets of baking trays and place into an oven preheated at 180ºC. Takes about 15 minutes to get them crisp.
- Make parsnip or potato cream. Melt butter in Thermomix until smoky. Add the parsnip, cream and milk.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- When parsnip is soft, puree by turning the Thermomix on, speed 5. Set aside.
- Make the soup. Heat up the oil and shallots in the Thermomix.
- Add the pumpkin pieces. When cooked, add in the stock and cook until pumpkin is very soft, about 25 minutes.
- Puree pumpkin mixture.
- Pipe the parsnip cream and pour the pumpkin soup over. Top them with bacon/gamon.
