Savory Pumpkin Cream

Submitted by HELEN PEAGRAM

"The first attempt came out thicker than a cream soup but more liquid than a pureed vegetable such as mashed potatoes. I'm sure it would be better with cream and good chicken stock. Thinned out this would be an excellent soup. With more eggs, it might have promise as a sort of savoury custard or tart filling. I will continue working on this as long as the supply of pumpkin holds out."

 

• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 3

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups pumpkin, cubed, Cooked
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon fat, melted
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder ([heaping])
• to taste garlic powder
• to taste curry powder (optional)
• to taste red peppers or to taste black pepper
• assorted herbs

directions

1. Mix pumpkin, milk, fat, flour and egg in a blender until pumpkin is creamy smooth.
2. Pour into a saucepan, add the seasonings and bring slowly to a simmer over medium heat, stirring as the mixture thickens.
3. Adjust seasonings.
4. Serve in individual ramekins as a side dish.
5. For the fat I used chicken fat rendered from a bird roasted the previous night.
6. For seasonings I used just a pinch of curry powder, about 1/4 tsp of my own chile pepper blend and a scant tsp of some mixed herbs.
7. My powder blend is: 1 tsp salt 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp cayenne 1 Tbsp paprika 1 dried, powdered habanero My herb mixture is basically equal parts commercial Italian mixed herbs, French fines herbes, parsley and poultry seasoning.
8. In other words a pinch of just about everything.