My Special Roasted Pumpkin Bisque - A Fall Tradition

Total Time: 2 hrs 45 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 1 large pumpkin, however small enough to fit whole in your oven (jack o lantern size)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 fresh thyme sprigs, whole
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 6 cups pumpkin flesh (including aromatics from above)
• 32 ounces chicken broth (preferably organic)
• 3/4 teaspoon old bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon powdered ginger
• sea salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup whipping cream

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 400 degrees. adjust oven racks to fit whole pumpkin in the oven without the stem coming in contact with the coils.
• 2 rinse the outside of pumpkin to remove any residual dirt or debris. dry.
• 3 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.
• 4 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.
• 5 with pumpkin cavity cleaned out, place butter, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and thyme inside.
• 6 place pumpkin on a cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper.
• 7 replace lid on pumpkin and use the olive oil to grease the entire exterior of the pumpkin, lid included.
• 8 put pumpkin in oven, again making sure that stem isn't touching the coils.
• 9 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.
• 10 once done, remove pumpkin from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
• 11 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.
• 12 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.
• 13 remove thyme sprigs, but scrape some of the little leaves into the soup.
• 14 with an immersion blender, puree the soup completely. if very thick like pudding add a little extra water or chicken broth.
• 15 add all seasonings to the puree, adjusting to suit your individual tastes.
• 16 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.
• 17 rinse out your stockpot and replace the strained soup. stir in the whipping cream and adjust salt and pepper seasonings.
• 18 let bisque simmer on stovetop for another 10 minutes at least, for flavors to meld.
• 19 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.
• 20 serve at the table with the lid in place and ladle sticking out.
• 21 **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.