Pumpkin Chowder

This is one of my new favorite fall recipes. I LOVE pumpkin, especially Indian River Pumpkins. If you ever get an inkling to cook pumpkin, which is incredibly easy, only buy Indian River ones. Around here Vollmer Farms sells them as does the State Farmers Market-They are about $5 a pumpkin and it yields approx. 8 cups of fresh pumpkin. These cook the best, have terrific flavor and aren't too watery. I buy these in the fall, bake them then freeze in 2 cup amounts to use later-pumpkin pie, muffins, chowder, ice cream... It hands down is better then the can. Really, it makes everything have incredible flavor! (If you don't want to bake your own, a can of pumpkin will work. You can even use frozen squash from your local grocery to make things even faster.)

Pumpkin Chowder
(sometimes called Pumpkin-Acorn Squash soup)

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Other: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Yield: Makes about 8 cups

Ingredients

• 1 medium-size pie pumpkin (about 3 1/2 lb.)
• 1 medium-size acorn squash (about 2 lb.)
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 tablespoons honey, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 medium-size sweet onion, chopped
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 4 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Cut pumpkin and squash in half lengthwise, cutting through stem and bottom ends. Reserve seeds for another use. Place pumpkin and squash halves, cut sides up, in an aluminum foil-lined shallow pan. (I just pull 2 cups Indian River Pumpkin from my freezer already cooked. I only cook the Acorn squash this way.)

2. Melt butter; stir in 1 Tbsp. honey and 1/4 tsp. salt. Brush cut sides of pumpkin and squash with butter mixture.

3. Bake pumpkin and squash at 400° for 45 minutes or until tender. Let cool completely (about 15 minutes). Scoop out pulp, discarding shells.

4. Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add thyme; sauté 1 minute or until fragrant.

5. Stir in broth and pumpkin and squash pulp. Increase heat to medium-high; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool 10 minutes.

6. Process soup, in batches, in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return soup to Dutch oven. Stir in half-and-half, next 4 ingredients, and remaining 1 Tbsp. honey and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook, over low heat, stirring often, 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve immediately.

TRY THIS TWIST

Kitchen Express Roasted Pumpkin-Acorn Squash Soup: Substitute 1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin for fresh pie pumpkin and 2 (12-oz.) packages frozen cooked pureed squash, thawed, for fresh acorn squash. Decrease butter to 2 Tbsp. Omit Steps 1, 2, and 3. Proceed with Steps 4 through 6, simmering 6 minutes in Step 5 and stirring in 2 Tbsp. honey and 1/2 tsp. salt with half-and-half in Step 6. Hands-on time: 30 min.; Total time: 55 min.

Note: We tested with Publix Cooked Squash. Be sure to use unsweetened squash puree for best results.

Southern Living, OCTOBER 2009