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| Photo by Bennet V |
Pumpkin soup comes around every fall, but it reminds me of being a young adult in New York City. It was the one and only dish I remember making in my teensy-weensy three bedroom apartment in lower Manhattan back in the day.
On our tiny stove I simmered chunks of squash in chicken broth with curry powder. I'm guessing that I pureed it all in a blender--immersion blenders not the everyday (and indispensable) appliance they are today--but I have no recollection of owning a blender back then.
The point is that ever since, I've always followed the same spice route with pumpkin. True, it loves the warmth of ginger, cumin and coriander. But this fall I wanted to go in a different direction, mellower and more savory in a way that played up its pumpkin-ness. In other words, zuppa di zucca.
I cooked the onion is ample butter and olive oil without a real sense of direction. Salt, vegetable stock, and seeded, scooped-out pumpkin flesh* went into the pot. I stirred just a little and thought about what this soup wanted.
The seasonings for this zuppa?
A parmesan rind and 6 bay leaves. Yes, repeat after me: parmesan and bay leaves. Say it with feeling: Parmigiano e alloro.
Amazingly, bay makes pumpkin taste more of itself while the parmesan offers its nutty saltiness.After the parmesan rind had softened, I scraped some of the gooey cheese into the soup, then pureed it in the pot with my immersion blender.
Dinner. Done. Molto grazie.
Recipe: Savory Pumpkin Soup
*In years of pumpkin soup making, I've learned not to waste another moment (or risking an ER trip) cutting up raw pumpkin. I'm so lazy that after splitting the pumpkin or winter squash, I don't even seed it. I plunk it on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and send it into the 350 F-degree oven until I can press the flesh with my fingers, about 1 hour. I bake the pumpkin hours--or days--in advance, so that I can make pumpkin soup in 20 minutes.
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