Pumpkin Soup With Fennel And Leeks Food

PUMPKIN, POTATO, AND LEEK SOUP

Steps:

• Cut an 8-inch square of cheesecloth, and place the cloves, peppercors, bay leaf, and parsley in the center; bring up the ends to form a sack and tie securely with kitchen twine; set aside.
• In a large saucepan, saute garlic and leeks in olive oil over medium heat until tender but not brown, about 3-5 minutes.
• Add the cinnamon and thyme and cook 1 minute longer.
• Add the chunks of potato, pumpkin, the stock, and the spice bag; bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, or until potatoes and pumpin are fork-tender; discard spice bag.
• Cool soup 5-7 minutes; then puree in batches in a blender or food processor.
• Return pureed soup to pan and add half and half, salt, sugar, cayenne, and ground pepper (to taste).
• Cook over low heat until heated through, but do not boil.
• Adjust seasonings and serve garnished with fresh parsley.

LEEK AND FENNEL SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan or soup kettle over medium-low heat, place the olive oil, leeks, celery, onions, fennel, potatoes, salt, and pepper, and cook and stir until the onions are translucent and the vegetables have begun to soften, about 10 minutes.
• Pour 8 cups of water over the vegetables, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and drop in the vegetable bouillon cubes. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the cubes, until the vegetables are tender and the potatoes have begun to thicken the soup, about 30 minutes.

LEEK AND PUMPKIN SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a heavy casserole. Add the leeks and saute slowly, over low heat, until they are tender but not brown. Stir in the garlic.
• Add the pumpkin and water, cover and simmer until the pumpkin is tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes, then puree in one or two batches in a food processor.
• Return the puree to the casserole, add the milk and season to taste with salt and pepper. Reheat before serving. Sprinkle each serving with chives.

CREAMY FENNEL AND LEEK SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a large, deep (preferably non-stick) sauté pan, over a medium heat, add the sliced fennel (NOT the strips of fennel), sliced leek and finely chopped garlic, and sauté, while stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until the fennel, leeks and garlic are beginning to soften.
• Remove from the heat, and set aside.
• In a large pot, heat the stock, add the rosemary sprigs, thyme and nutmeg and bring to the boil.
• Simmer over a low heat for about 15 minutes.
• Remove the rosemary sprigs.
• Add the fennel, leek and garlic mixture to the pot, and stir to combine all the ingredients.
• Set the pan in which the fennel, leek and garlic were sautéed aside, for re-use later.
• Allow the soup to cool slightly (10 minutes cooling time should be ample), then blend it in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth.
• As each batch is blended, pour the blended soup into another pot or pan, perhaps the deep pan used earlier to sauté the fennel, leeks and garlic.
• Once all of the soup has been blended, stir it to ensure that it is of an even consistency (inevitably some batches were probably thinner than others).
• Stir the sour cream and the 1/4 cup of parmesan into the soup.
• Reheat the soup over a medium heat until it is hot, but do not allow it to come to the boil.
• Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Turn off the heat and leave the soup covered so that it stays warm.
• In a small non-stick pan, heat the oil, and sauté the extra leek for 2-3 minutes, or until softened but not browned.
• Ladle the soup into warm soup bowls and top with the sautéed leek.
• Garnish with the extra parmesan and sour cream, and serve immediately with warm crusty rolls.
• Chef's Note: Since posting this recipe, and since last making this soup, I have found and posted a fabulous recipe for vegetable, quite unlike others I have used in the past: Vegetable Stock Recipe #135453.

POTATO, LEEK AND FENNEL SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add leeks and fennel and sauté until leeks are translucent, about 7 minutes. Add broth and potatoes and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer soup until potatoes are very tender, about 25 minutes. Working in batches, purée soup in blender. Return to same pot. Rewarm soup if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls; garnish with reserved fennel fronds and serve.

CREAMY PUMPKIN & LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan. Fry the onions until softened and starting to turn golden. Stir in the garlic, pumpkin flesh, lentils and thyme, then pour in the hot stock. Season, cover and simmer for 20-25 mins until the lentils and vegetables are tender.
• Meanwhile, wash the pumpkin seeds. Remove any flesh still clinging to them, then dry them with kitchen paper. Heat the 1 tsp oil in a non-stick pan and fry the seeds until they start to jump and pop. Stir frequently, but cover the pan in between to keep them in it. When the seeds look nutty and toasted, add a sprinkling of salt and a pinch of sugar, and stir well.
• Whizz the cooked pumpkin mixture with a hand blender or in a food processor until smooth, then add the crème fraîche and whizz again. Taste for seasoning.
• Serve with a spoonful of crème fraîche, a few thyme leaves and the toasted seeds scattered on top.