Joanne Weir's Sugar Pumpkin Soup with Honey Pecan Butter

Joanne Weir teaches hands-on cooking courses in her professional kitchen in San Francisco and also has a schedule of week-long journeys to locations in France, Italy, and Spain. She is the author of several cookbooks. Her latest cookbook is Wine Country Cooking.

You can find out more about Joanne Weir and her cooking classes on her Web site.

Ingredients

SUGAR PUMPKIN SOUP WITH HONEY PECAN BUTTER

1 medium pumpkin, about 4 pounds
3 tablespoons butter
2 slices bacon, diced, 2 ounces
1 large yellow onion, chopped
6 cups chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream
large pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons toasted and finely chopped pecans
1 tablespoon honey
Whole leaves of Italian parsley as a garnish

Preheat an oven to 375°F.

Halve the pumpkin and place it cut side down on a oiled baking sheet.  Bake until the pumpkin can be easily skewered, 45 to 60 minutes.  Cool 20 minutes.  With a spoon, remove seeds and discard.  Scrape the pulp and reserve.  Discard peel.

In a soup pot over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter.  Add the bacon and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, 10 minutes.  Add the pumpkin and stock and simmer until the pumpkin falls apart, 30 minutes.  Cool 20 minutes.  Puree the soup in the blender in batches until very smooth, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Strain into a clean soup pot and add the cream, orange juice and nutmeg.  Season with salt and pepper.  If the soup is too thick, to correct the consistency, thin with additional water or stock. 

For the butter, mash together the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, pecans and honey, Season with salt and pepper.  Roll the butter in plastic wrap into a cylindrical shape 1-inch diameter.  Store in refrigerator.

Ladle the hot soup into soup bowls.  Cut 1/4-inch slices of the pecan butter and float one in the center of each soup.  Garnish with parsley leaves.

Serves 6

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Joanne Weir's Cookbooks