A Crazy Pumpkin Soup

So much has changed since the last time I wrote on The Patch.  The first and most important change is that the Ridgewood Farmer’s Market has officially pulled up its stakes for the winter.  I know farmer’s market aficionado and caterer extraordinaire, Jen Marionni of “Jen’s Kitchen to Go,” has been diligently seeking out alternative sources for fresh and local ingredients.  If I get any tips for her, I’ll be sure to pass them on. 

Now, for some unfinished business:  I don’t know if you remember the Canal House pumpkin soup recipe I mentioned in August.  It’s unusual because you bake a whole pumpkin, filled with broth, garlic, bay leaves, pimenton d’esplette (spicy paprika) and gruyere cheese.  To serve, you bring the whole shebang to the table (talk about wow factor!).  You ladle the broth and cheese into your lucky guest’s bowls, and then you scoop out a couple of chunks of pumpkin and put a few in each bowl.   I have made it twice now and both times, it was absolutely delish.  I took whatever was leftover and pureed it in the blender.  I reheated it gently the next day and added just a splash of whole milk to enrich it.  The kids loved it.

Now, I will warn you to only use a pumpkin you can accommodate on a rimmed baking sheet or in a casserole.  The second time I made the soup was for a dinner party, so of course I had to go and pick this very dramatic Cinderella pumpkin.  It was probably fifteen inches wide.  It hung over the side of the baking sheet a little, and when the flesh softened, the rim dug into it and created a slow leak.  We stemmed it with some kitchen towels for the duration of the first course, but when my husband lifted it over our friend, Craig’s head, I think he was wishing for a slicker.  Oh yes, the other detail to note is that this thing is VERY heavy.  I think if I did it for a crowd again, I would buy several smaller pumpkins and place them around the table, as they did in the Canal House article, which, in case you are looking for it, is in the October issue of Bon Appetit.

So, there you have it.  Next time, I’ll tell you how the stuffed pork loin came out.  It’s the perfect alternative to turkey this holiday season.