A Fall Favorite: Southwestern Pumpkin Soup

There's this soup I have been making for years that I would love to share with you. I've made it mostly for myself (I can be selfish with my food at times), but I also made it for my daughter's second birthday party last year and there wasn't a drop left.

I have an addiction to soup - mostly the pureed kind - and this one is at the top of my list. It's a twist on the traditionally-spiced pumpkin soup. I found it while paging through Bon Appetit all the way back in 2000 and lucky for you, the recipe is below or online at Epicurious.com.

It's Southwestern Pumpkin Soup: slightly sweetened with brown sugar and spiced with chili powder and cumin. The added touch of cilantro and sharp cheddar sprinkled on the top makes it quite special. It does call for canned pumpkin, but if you have a pumpkin from the Farmers Market all the better!

Southwestern Pumpkin Soup
Serves 4 (first course)

• 3 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 cup whipping cream

• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
• 3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup (packed) grated sharp cheddar cheese
• Chopped fresh cilantro

Bring chicken stock and whipping cream to boil in heavy medium pot. Whisk in canned pumpkin, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, coriander and nutmeg. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until soup thickens slightly and flavors blend, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Soup can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cool. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally.) Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish each serving with cheddar cheese and cilantro and serve.

Romanesco Invades the OFM

Romanesco broccoli, that is. This most unusual of crucifers -- looking like alien vessels, shrubbery maintained by garden gnomes or perhaps an oddly green coral outcropping -- is actually a variant form of cauliflower, known for its visually stunning fractal appearance as much as for its tastiness. When I spotted a bin full of perfectly fresh specimens at North Star Orchard's stand at last week's OFM, I couldn't resist taking one home.

The question was what to do with it once I got it home. Not one to cook from recipes very often, I decided to just wing it, my only parameter being to utilize ingredients from the Oakmont Market wherever possible. Here's what I came up with -- my "recipe," if you insist.

Romanesco cidrée au gratin
(Don't let the fancy French name scare you. It's really easy.)

Ingredients:

- One medium-large head of Romanesco, florets divided and stem chopped in 1/2 inch cubes.
- One medium yellow onion, diced
- A few ounces of fresh apple cider
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cheddar, Jack, Gruyere or other semi-soft cows' milk cheese, grated or thinly sliced.

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Steam Romanesco until al dente. If using the stem, give the stem pieces a brief head start.
- Meanwhile, sautée onion in olive oil until aromatic and soft.
- Remove Romanesco from the steamer, shake off excess moisture and add to the sautée pan, cooking together with the onions for a minute or two, just enough to let the flavors meld.
- Add apple cider to the pan -- I used the delicious cider from Fruitwood Orchards -- and simmer until cider reduces by about half.
- Transfer contents of pan to an oven safe casserole, top with cheese of your choice and bake in oven until cheese starts to bubble. I used Gruyere (that I already had on-hand) but the Cheddar or Jack from Hillacres Pride should work mighty fine.
- Remove from oven and you're ready to enjoy.

Can be served on its own as a side dish or over brown rice or other grain of choice as a main course.

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Posted by David McDuff, HTFMA
McDuff's Food & Wine Trail

Harvest Locavore Dinner - 6PM (SEATS AVAILABLE), 8PM (SOLD OUT)

The Haverford Township Farmers Market Association is thrilled to announce the first-ever Haverford Locavore Harvest Dinner on Thursday, October 16 at Kaya’s Fusion Cuisine, 5 Brookline Boulevard, Havertown.


Kaya's Fusion Cuisine is using ALL LOCAL FOODS from the Oakmont Farmers Market to create a fixed-price four-course dinner. There will be two seatings, at 6 pm and at 8 pm (SOLD OUT), and the cost per person is $45 (includes tax, but not tip). Kaya’s is a BYOB establishment and there are no corkage fees for this dinner.

Items featured on the menu will be (subject to change):

Starter: Butternut squash and 5 spice soup with a coconut drizzle

Second Course: Broccoli, red onion and turkey bacon salad

Main Course: Slow-roasted Bison short ribs served with a Colby cheese and cauliflower puree with braised Brussels sprouts

Dessert: Pumpkin cheesecake and spiked hot apple cider

To find out more about the Harvest Dinner and make a reservation, call 610-446-2780.

Hurry! Space is still available at the 6pm seating, but the 8pm seating is SOLD OUT!

I hope to see you there!

Jennifer Sanders, HTFMA