Texas is finally cold, and I’m ready to get cozy with a bowl filled with warm soup. But you know what would be better? A pumpkin full of warm soup. It’s just that much more awesome. This soup is full of fall flavors and beautiful in color. And to make you feel even cozier, I added a splash of bourbon. Let’s do this!
To make this you will need:
- 2 small pumpkins
- 1 teaspoon picked thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms
- 3 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 large shallot
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/4 cup of bourbon
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- 1 14 fluid oz. can of coconut milk
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
To start, place one whole, uncut pumpkin in an oven at 400 degrees and roast for 45 minutes. (Roasting it whole makes it easier to cut in half, remove the seeds, and then cut into wedges.)
Take your lightly roasted pumpkin and cut into halves like so.
Scoop out and discard all of the flesh and seeds.
Using a knife, cut the pumpkin into wedges and slice off the skins. Go ahead and cut them into 1-inch chunks.
Take butter and melt it over medium heat in the bottom of a pot or dutch oven. Add shallot, garlic, mushrooms, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Sauté these ingredients until soft.
Toss the pumpkin chunks into the pot!
Add fresh sage and thyme.
Now include the ground spices: cayenne and all spice.
As well as the ground cloves and cardamon. Give all of these spices a nice stir.
Next, deglaze the bottom of the pot with bourbon. This is such a wonderful thing, trust me. It gives the soup a nice third dimension.
Add in the maple syrup for a hint of sweetness.
Go ahead and include the chicken stock and water and mix all of these contents together.
Meanwhile, if you want to be awesome and serve your soup in a pumpkin. Complete the following step: Pop your second pumpkin (after you have removed the inside flesh and seeds) in the oven and roast for 25 minutes at 400 degrees until tender when poked with a fork.
Now, back to the broth. Cover and bring to a simmer for about 30 minutes.
Then transfer the broth to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Do it in batches instead of overloading your blender.
Once blended, move the soup back to pot and add coconut milk. This special ingredient makes the soup even creamier and a little bit exotic.
Simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and a bit more maple syrup to taste.
Serve in a pumpkin bowl as you wish and garnish with sage for a pop of color. A rich, flavorful bowl of soup never disappoints–and it gets better with time, so will be even more delicious the next day. Give it a try and tell me what you think!
"Pumpkin Bourbon Soup"
Ingredients
- 2 small pumpkins
- 1 tsp picked thyme leaves
- 1 tsp fresh sage
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms
- 3 garlic cloves diced
- 1 large shallot
- 1 Tb butter
- 1/2 tsp ground cayenne
- 1/2 ground all spice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/4 c of bourbon
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- 1 14 fl. oz can of coconut milk
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Begin by placing one whole and uncut pumpkin in an oven at 400 degrees and roast for 45 minutes.
- After roasting is complete, cut the pumpkin into half.
- Scoop out and discard the flesh and seeds.
- Cut the pumpkin halves into wedges.
- Then slice off the skins.
- Cut the pumpkin into 1-inch chunks.
- In a pot or dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat, and add the shallot, garlic, and mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until soft.
- Add pumpkin chunks to pot.
- Combine sage, thyme, ground cayenne, ground all spice, ground cloves, and ground cardamom. Stir these ingredients together.
- Next, deglaze the bottom of the pot with bourbon and stir again.
- Include the maple syrup, chicken stock, and water. Stir once more.
- If you want to serve your soup in a pumpkin. Complete the following step: Place your second pumpkin (after you have removed the inside flesh and seeds) in the oven and roast for 25 minutes at 400 degrees until tender when poked with a fork.
- Consecutively, cover the pot of pumpkin broth and bring to a simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Then transfer the broth to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Do it in batches instead of overloading your blender.
- Move pureed soup back into the pot and add the coconut milk. Stir and then let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Season with salt and more maple syrup to taste.
- Serve in rustic roasted pumpkin or in a regular bowl. Garnish with sage.
