Super Soup!

The market near where I work always has about half a dozen soups available and they're usually pretty tasty. The other day I saw they had a new one- Spiced Pumpkin Bisque. I got a cup for myself with a mini baguette. I want to be clear- this was no Pumpkin Spice Soup, but Spiced Pumpkin Soup. It was nothing like the sickly sweet flavor of pretty much every single Pumpkin Spice product out there at this time of year. I had glanced at the ingredients while filling up my cup of soup so the next day I decided to try to recreate the soup at home.

It was most definitely a success. If you want to make it yourself, here's what you'll need:

32 ounces chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you want to make a vegetarian version) plus a little extra if needed
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large sweet potato peeled and chopped into large chunks
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
Sage
Cumin
Cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper
Fresh cilantro and shredded Parmesan for garnish

Start by sautéing the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil. Once they are translucent and fragrant, add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the sweet potato and reduce heat to medium, allowing to simmer until the sweet potato is fork tender- about 12 minutes. Next, add the pumpkin puree. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. At this point, you may or may not want to add more broth depending on the thickness of the soup. I added a small can of broth in addition to the original 32 ounces. If you don't have enough broth, you could always add a little water.

Once the soup is smooth, you can start to season. I have to be honest- I didn't measure any of my spices. I just sort of eye-balled it and hoped for the best. I probably started with about a 1/2 tsp of sage, a tsp of cumin and a 1/2 tsp of cayenne. Plus a dash of salt and about a 1/2 tsp of black pepper. I'd recommend starting there and adjusting the seasoning to your own taste. I wanted a spicy soup, so I ended up adding about another 1/2 tsp of cumin, sage and cayenne. Again, this is an estimate as I did not measure, I just sprinkled the spices right into the soup. What can I say, I live on the edge!

At this point, you could be done- ladle it into a bowl, garnish with fresh cilantro and shredded Parmesan and enjoy it with a crusty baguette. OR, you could take it to another level and add a half cup of heavy cream. I found this soup to be delicious with or without the cream, but when I added the cream, it not only made it a little more rich (duh) but it added a depth to the overall flavor that really complimented the spices and pumpkin flavor.

What I like most about this soup is how easy it comes together and how simple and few ingredients you need to make a really delicious dish. It's hearty enough to stand on its own as a meal, but would be lovely accompanied by a fresh green salad, too.

Bon appetit, friends!