Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon Crema and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

This is another of those recipe titles that lets you know nearly everything in this soup. This soup is beautiful, relatively easy, and good for you! I had one bowl. Then I had another. I wanted still more, but I restrained myself because I had to share with Walt. This definitely is a 5-star recipe!

Bobby Flay says:
It’s almost impossible not to have this soup on Mesa’s menu in the late fall, both because I love it and because the customers wouldn’t let me leave it off. It does have all of those classic spices that you pair with pumpkin – cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg – but the addition of chipotles adds some nice heat and makes this soup anything but standard or sweet. To make this recipe speedy, I opt for store-bought pumpkin puree and raw pumpkin seeds, which are available at health food stores, instead of roasting the pumpkin yourself.

PUMPKIN SOUP WITH CINNAMON CREMA AND ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS
3-4 c. chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
3 c. pumpkin puree (not flavored pie filling)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon, plus extra for garnish
1 tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
2 tbs. honey
2 tbs. pure maple syrup
2 tsp. chipotle chile puree (see note below)
¾ c. crema, crème fraiche, or sour cream (see other note below)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (recipe follows)

Note on chipotle chile puree: get a can of adobo chiles and puree it in the food processor or blender. Use what you need and freeze the rest in little batches in baggies or freezer containers or ice cube trays.

Note on crème fraiche (I learned it’s pronounced crem fresh): I prefer this to the crema (which you can buy in any grocery store in the refrigerated Mexican foods section) or sour cream. Pour 1 cup heavy cream in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Cover and let sit 12-18 hours at room temperature. It will get to a lovely smooth and thick consistency. If you add a bit of powdered sugar and vanilla, it makes a fabulous topping for anything you use with sweet whipped cream.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds:
1 c. raw pumpkin seeds (I got some at the local natural foods store in the refrigerated section)
2 tbs. vegetable oil
Kosher salt

Oven at 325 degrees. Or if you have a toaster oven, use it. Toss the seeds with the oil and salt to taste. Spread the seeds evenly on a baking sheet and bake, tossing or stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes, until they are lightly golden brown and crisp. Let cool. These can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in an airtight container. Once you taste them, though, there will be no need to store them. Hiding them from me would be better.

Okay – now for the soup itself:
Bring 3 cups of the stock to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Stir 1 tsp. of cinnamon, the ginger, allspice, nutmeg, honey, maple syrup, and chipotle puree into the pumpkin.

Whisk into boiling stock. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes. Add more stock if the soup is too thick.

Remove from heat and whisk in ¼ cup of the crème fraiche, or whatever you use. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Mix together the remaining ½ cup of the crème fraiche and 1 tsp. cinnamon until combined.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle with the cinnamon cream and sprinkle with the roasted pumpkin seeds and a little cinnamon.

6-8 Servings.

You can serve this with a salad or some fresh bread. Some Mexican bolillos would be great.