My Special Roasted Pumpkin Bisque - a Fall Tradition

"Delicious pumpkin bisque served right from the pumpkin itself! The pumpkin is roasted whole in the oven with an infusion of flavors steaming inside and then finished on the stovetop to create a rich velvety bisque with incredible depth that is then replaced in the pumpkin to serve. The bisque is meant to be fragrant and almost spicy, but of course you can adjust the seasonings to your liking. This is unlike any recipe out there as I have spent the last 10 years perfecting it. It is a favorite for our autumn family get-togethers and you will find yourself craving this day after day!"
 
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Ready In:
2hrs 45mins
Ingredients:
19
Serves:
10
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ingredients

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directions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Adjust oven racks to fit whole pumpkin in the oven without the stem coming in contact with the coils.
  • Rinse the outside of pumpkin to remove any residual dirt or debris. Dry.
  • Carefully cut out the top portion of the pumpkin surrounding the stem so that you are creating a "lid" for the entire pumpkin. Do this on an angle so that the knife is pointed almost straight out from you. You will be creating a lip for the lid of the pumpkin to rest on so that it does not fall straight in while cooking.
  • Place lid upside down in a bowl of water so that the stem becomes very wet. While this is soaking for a few minutes, clean out interior of pumpkin, removing any strings and seeds. Rinse seeds and set aside to roast later on if desired.
  • With pumpkin cavity cleaned out, place butter, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and thyme inside.
  • Place pumpkin on a cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper.
  • Replace lid on pumpkin and use the olive oil to grease the entire exterior of the pumpkin, lid included.
  • Put pumpkin in oven, again making sure that stem isn't touching the coils.
  • Bake for one hour. Check for doneness by carefully removing lid and scraping a knife very gently into the interior flesh, but not piercing it through. Texture should be soft and scoopable. If still a bit hard, then cook for an additional 30 minutes or so until soft. The outside of the pumpkin with be a burnt orange and brown.
  • Once done, remove pumpkin from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
  • Scrape interior flesh very gently, not going too deep, and making sure to get the flesh at the bottom mainly, where the butter and aromatics were.
  • Once you have about 4 cups of flesh, including the thyme sprigs and such, then set the whole pumpkin aside for later and place flesh in a big stockpot of dutch oven. Add chicken broth and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Remove thyme sprigs, but scrape some of the little leaves into the soup.
  • With an immersion blender, puree the soup completely. If very thick like pudding add a little extra water or chicken broth.
  • Add all seasonings to the puree, adjusting to suit your individual tastes.
  • With a ladle, strain puree through a mesh sieve into a large bowl. The soup should go through somewhat easily with you pushing it through gently with the ladle.
  • Rinse out your stockpot and replace the strained soup. Stir in the whipping cream and adjust salt and pepper seasonings.
  • Let bisque simmer on stovetop for another 10 minutes at least, for flavors to meld.
  • To serve bisque, place pumpkin on a large platter. Place a large bowl inside of pumpkin (if you are able to fit it through the top hole) and pour soup into that bowl, replacing lid and placing on table. Otherwise, if you feel the pumpkin walls and bottom are still solid enough and there are no visible holes in the flesh, then you can try pouring the soup directly into the pumpkin shell itself and serving directly out of the pumpkin. For a decorative touch, line the platter with kale leaves to resemble foliage.
  • Serve at the table with the lid in place and ladle sticking out.
  • **To roast the reserved pumpkin seeds for a snack: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse pumpkin seeds and remove any strings. Dry seeds lightly with a cloth or paper towel. Spread onto a sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt, cumin and chili powder. Toss well with hands. Bake for 20 minutes or until well toasted and dried out. Remove from oven, sprinkle olive oil across seeds and toss in a bowl. Add more salt or spices according to your preference.

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Reviews

  1. This is absolutely fantastic. I used two pumpkins, about 3.5 lbs total and put I. 1 large onion and half of another. Added exactly the measurements of these spices. I didn't have whipping cream so added sour cream. Now I have to say, I added 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar, you could add maple syrup. It just needed something that was missing with all those yummy spices. Oh my goodness perfection. Love love love this and will make it again. I ended up with a crock pot full and just in time for fall. I work at a college and we order pumpkin bisque soup every year at this time because it is so delicious. I think this one is better than our chefs! Fabulous and warm in the tummy!
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/Adopted1smp.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/IWasAdoptedfall08.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> I'm half French and half Italian, so that means I love food, I love wine, and I love food with wine! I'm passionate about my cultures and it reflects in my cooking style. I love dishes with complexity, richness, and unique character. I prefer cooking the old fashioned way, with less technology and more elbow grease, but with a new baby I have to sometimes bite the bullet and go with some shortcuts. But for the record, I NEVER use Cool Whip, Crisco, or margarine because I love "whole" foods that are in their unadulterated state... like butter, fresh whipped cream, etc. The real stuff ALWAYS tastes better. Not to mention those substitutes are pretty close to being plastic. As for my personal life, I have a 2 and a half year old girl named Sienna and an 8 month old girl named Mia. My husband and I love to enjoy a home cooked meal together and open a great bottle of red wine. My parents both are wonderful cooks. My father is a seasoning genius, and my mother makes everything taste delicious. They both instilled in me the love of food and the love of the art of food, and that every meal should be a celebrated occasion. The cake used as my "icon" picture... a beautiful mocha genoise, was made by my mother, and is probably at the top of my list for amazing desserts. I would probably eat that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if it were available to me. Mmmmmm. I have traveled all over Europe and the United States, and also visited Morocco. Marrakesh is magical, France is inspiring, and I wish I could go back! I have truly become a Zaar addict and love searching out the highest rated recipes to share with family and friends. Doing this has saved me a ton of money at the grocery store because I can plan out my meals for the week and make one trip instead of shopping everyday. I love crockpot meals not just for the simplicity, but slow cooking in my opinion brings out remarkable flavor and tenderness and allows ingredients to meld just so. My rating system for recipes are as follows: 5 stars means it was FABULOUS and unique and I'll definitely be making it to impress my guests. 4 stars means it was great and I will be sure to make it again. 3 stars means it was good and served the purpose I needed but I may or may not make it again. 2 stars means I really didn't care for it and probably won't be making it again. It may not just be the taste, but other factors such as preparation involved and it's worth compared to the end result. 1 star means I really did not like this dish and will not make it again. Thanks for your interest and hope you enjoy my recipes! ******************** I first saw this on Karen from Colorado's page... I love it!... I didn't have potatoes, so I substituted rice. I didn't have paprika, so I used another spice. I didn't have tomato sauce, I used tomato paste; A whole can, not a half can - I don't believe in waste. A friend gave me the recipe; she said you couldn't beat it. There must be something wrong with her, I couldn't even eat it!
 
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