I promised my husband that I would make this recipe my first on the French Foodie blog. Why? Because it’s all got to do with bacon! I agree that this healthy French soup is amazing, but it’s the secret “crème” that will make you go back for a second, third or even fourth bowl. The recipe is quite good for you if you omit the topping, but why would you want to? The French have a saying, “everything in moderation” and this proves true as I have never had any friends skip this sauce!
In my admiration of this cultures commitment to seasonal cooking, using what is organic and grown locally, here is my story from The Pumpkin Patch.
Last November my mother came for a visit and joined me on my daily walks around our neighborhood. This 40 minute hike includes admiring the rolling hills, the majestic mountains and stalking the empty lot at the end of my street. If you’re not careful, you’ll miss this flourishing little garden with it’s bright orange, robust basketballs littering the green. I feel like a proud mama as I’ve watched these its-bitsy babies grow up into 10 kilos each of pure gold. Ever since we moved in 1 1/2 years ago, I’ve noticed a basque man, coming one afternoon a month and tending to his patch. With full intention of asking for one of these beauties once they were mature, it finally happened, today mr. basque neighbor was out gardening!!! “Monsieur, monsieur?” I asked. “Oui, madame?”. I told him how I had been admiring those lovely pumpkins of his for over 3 months now and was wanting to buy one from him, would he please set a price? “Pourquoi?” he asked me. To be honest, really honest, the only reason I was coveting them was because I wanted one to carve for my girls for Halloween and no gardening stores sold them. You see, I saw the cutest designs on Pinterest where you drill holes instead of the traditional carving and then you have something that resembles that Lite-Brite game from the 70’s. “OH NON!” he gasped. You see, his pumpkins were organic, bursting with flavor, ready to be savored in a soup, not slashed up just for decoration! Oh la la. Well, once I convinced him (and promised myself) that I would make soup out of them and not art, he offered me, gratuitement, not just one but two of those gorgeous things! Back home, I quartered them, took out the seeds and strings, froze them raw without cooking (his advice) and then waited for just the right time to make this savory soup. With no further adieu, here it is just for you…February’s recipe.
Velouté de potiron et crème fouettée au lard fumé
Silky pumpkin soup with whipped bacon cream
Ingredients for soup: -serves 4-6
- 2 lbs pumpkin, butternut or buttercup squash (depending on what’s available)
- 2 Tablespoons duck fat, butter, olive or coconut oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 leek (white stalk only), chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 4-6 cups chicken broth (start with 4, add as needed for right consistency)
- 1/2 cup Half&half, light cream or milk depending on your diet
- salt & white pepper
- pinch of nutmeg, optional
Ingredients for the whipped bacon cream:
- 4 oz. salted pork, cubed
- 1 pint of whipping cream, divided into 2/3 for cooking and 1/3 for whipping
Cooking Instructions for soup:
There are 2 ways to cook squash. 1)The long way to cook them is by quartering your 2 lbs. of squash and removing the seeds/strings. Heat oven to 400F, set squash skin side down on
cooking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and white pepper it, and then bake for 1 hour until soft. Discard skin once pumpkin has cooled. Add this to chicken broth. 2)Short-cut to cooked squash is to cube squash into 1-2″ chunks, salt and (white) pepper them and bring to boil in your reserved chicken broth.
Heat the 2 tablespoons of fat in a soup pot on medium heat and add your thinly sliced garlic, onion and leek. (I slice my garlic so that it cooks at the same speed as the onion, without burning). Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, squash to pan and cook together for 10 minutes. Blend with hand mixer until finely pureed. If you don’t have this tool, use a food processor or blender but do so in stages, 1/3 of mixture at a time. Be careful not to burn yourself with the boiling soup. If soup is too thick, add more liquid. Return to soup pot and then add your half & half cream, whisking for 2 minutes to give the soup that silky, smooth texture.
Cooking instructions for whipped bacon cream:
Cook the cubed salted pork in 2/3 pint of whipping cream. Let it simmer for 30 minutes or until it’s reduced by half. Strain out the ham and let cream cool in fridge. Once cold, add the remaining 1/3 pint whipping cream to this and whip ! Even better if you own a siphon, it’s an impressive way to top the soup!
*Season your soup and give it a personality. Dried basque pepper, Piment d’Espelette, is a favorite of mine and I like to top each bowl of soup with it right before serving. (If you add this while cooking, you’ll lose the flavor.) Perhaps you prefer fresh chopped herbs such as chives or cilantro. Basil is always nice. However, if you want a more traditional earthy, flavor…nutmeg always goes with pumpkin! Just don’t forget to add that pinch of nutmeg while the soup is still cooking to mellow the flavor. It can be quite bitter otherwise.
I serve this steaming soup in warmed bowls with a dollop of the ice-cold whipped bacon cream topped at the very last second! Don’t forget a baguette or pain de compagne (rustic country bread) to sop it up with.
A nice dry, white wine always marries great with this soupe de potiron.
bon appétit!
Sara
PS. I’d love to hear your comments and answer any questions you might have regarding this recette. If you send me a photo of your pumpkin soup, I will send you a secret spice via snail-mail for your next recette in March!
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