Today I decided to make Pumpkin & Bacon Soup, and what a triumph, so here it is for you all to enjoy.
Ingredients
Olive Oil
50g Butter
1 Onion – diced fine
150g Dry-cured bacon chopped – I used oak smoked dry cured
Small pumpkin, you will need about 800g of flesh, peeled and de-seeded.
1-litre chicken stock
100ml double cream
3 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds
Maple syrup
Instructions
In a large pan heat about a tablespoon of oil with half the butter, add the onion a good pinch of salt and cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes. Add about 60g of the bacon and cook for 5 mins more. Increase the heat, add the stock and pumpkin and season. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, cover with a lid and leave for about 40 minutes until the pumpkin is soft. Depending on how big the chunks are, changes this time. Add the cream and again, bring to the boil then remove from the heat.
Whilst the soup is cooking toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry pan, not too hot, and beware as they can pop and jump about. They need to be coloured browns but don’t over toast.
Depending on what equipment you have depends on how you do this, but I used a stick blender in the pan to turn the chunky soup into a smooth silky soup. You could put it in a liquidiser, but do it in batches as the hot soup will expand whilst in the blender and no one looks good with hot soup all over them and the kitchen.
Next, return the blended soup to the pan. Melt the rest of the butter in another pan and cook the rest of the bacon for about 5 minutes, remove and pat dry of the butter and fats. Re-heat the soup if needed.
Put the cooked bacon in the bottom of the soup dishes and pour the soup over. Scatter with the toasted seeds and drizzle maple syrup over the soup, not too much as you done want a sugary soup. Add seasoning to taste.
I toasted sourdough bread and cut it into strips to serve with the soup. It added another layer of texture to it and is delicious.
Enjoy.
Mr Knitter 