Quick Weeknight Dinner: Spicy Pumpkin Soup with Croutons and Crispy Fried Onions
This quick, easy weeknight dinner will warm and fill you right up! The toppings make the soup so satisfying and delicious. I've included a simple mise-en-place setup to make this recipe a cinch for you!
“Mise-en-place” is something I’ve harped on a lot on my blog. It’s a French phrase ("putting in place") that just means prepping your ingredients and equipment before beginning to cook. Measuring out all your ingredients into prep bowls and getting out your pans may feel like an unnecessary hassle, but cooking becomes so relaxed when you do it! Well, usually. My blog post admittedly tells a story about a time that was not the case.
Side note: the spicy croutons in this recipe are killer. Bake 'em up and use 'em on salads, soups, etc.
Spicy Pumpkin Soup with Croutons and Crispy Fried Onions
Recipe by: Adapted from A Spicy Perspective
Yield: 6-8 servings
This quick, easy weeknight dinner will warm and fill you right up! The toppings make the soup so satisfying and delicious. I've included a simple mise-en-place setup to make this recipe a cinch for you!
Crouton Ingredients:
12 slices of a small (~3 inch diameter, ~1/2-inch slices) sourdough baguette, cubed
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
Soup Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
8 cups chicken stock
1 (29-ounce) can pure pumpkin purée
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds; for topping)
1 cup french fried onions (like French's; for topping)
Hot chile oil (for topping)
Directions:
Prepare your mise-en-place:
Make the soup. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat until it starts to shimmer. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeño into the pot and cook for 3-5 minutes or until softened. Add cumin spice mixture and cook for another 1 minute or so. Add stock, pumpkin, and beurre manié to the pot and stir to mix. Heat this to boiling before turning it down to a simmer. Simmer for around 20 minutes. Add red wine vinegar and honey and simmer for 3-5 more minutes. Use an immersion blender (or a regular blender covered with a dish towel -- if you do this, blend in small batches, opening the blender vent and being careful of the hot liquid) to purée the soup.
Serve the soup topped with crunchy fried onions, pumpkin seeds, croutons, and a drizzle of chile oil.
To read about my disastrous experience making this soup the first time (all because of what a klutz I am), make fun of me in the comment section, and see more photos, please head over to Willow Bird Baking!
x-posted to food_porn, picturing_food, cooking, bakebakebake
“Mise-en-place” is something I’ve harped on a lot on my blog. It’s a French phrase ("putting in place") that just means prepping your ingredients and equipment before beginning to cook. Measuring out all your ingredients into prep bowls and getting out your pans may feel like an unnecessary hassle, but cooking becomes so relaxed when you do it! Well, usually. My blog post admittedly tells a story about a time that was not the case.
Side note: the spicy croutons in this recipe are killer. Bake 'em up and use 'em on salads, soups, etc.
Spicy Pumpkin Soup with Croutons and Crispy Fried Onions
Recipe by: Adapted from A Spicy Perspective
Yield: 6-8 servings
This quick, easy weeknight dinner will warm and fill you right up! The toppings make the soup so satisfying and delicious. I've included a simple mise-en-place setup to make this recipe a cinch for you!
Crouton Ingredients:
12 slices of a small (~3 inch diameter, ~1/2-inch slices) sourdough baguette, cubed
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
Soup Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
8 cups chicken stock
1 (29-ounce) can pure pumpkin purée
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds; for topping)
1 cup french fried onions (like French's; for topping)
Hot chile oil (for topping)
Directions:
Prepare your mise-en-place:
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and cover 2 baking sheets with foil.
- Prepare a paper towel lined plate for draining the croutons when they're done.
- Melt the butter for croutons and mix in garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, and salt.
- Put olive oil into a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot on the stove.
- Put chopped onion, garlic, and jalapeño into medium prep bowl.
- Put cumin, oregano, cinnamon, and salt into small prep bowl.
- Open cans/packages of stock and pumpkin.
- In a small prep bowl, mash together softened butter and flour (this is called a beurre manié and is used to thicken soups)
- Put red wine vinegar and honey into two small prep bowls
- Prepare a dish with pepitas and fried onions and set this with the bottle of chile oil on the dinner table.
Make the soup. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat until it starts to shimmer. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeño into the pot and cook for 3-5 minutes or until softened. Add cumin spice mixture and cook for another 1 minute or so. Add stock, pumpkin, and beurre manié to the pot and stir to mix. Heat this to boiling before turning it down to a simmer. Simmer for around 20 minutes. Add red wine vinegar and honey and simmer for 3-5 more minutes. Use an immersion blender (or a regular blender covered with a dish towel -- if you do this, blend in small batches, opening the blender vent and being careful of the hot liquid) to purée the soup.
Serve the soup topped with crunchy fried onions, pumpkin seeds, croutons, and a drizzle of chile oil.
To read about my disastrous experience making this soup the first time (all because of what a klutz I am), make fun of me in the comment section, and see more photos, please head over to Willow Bird Baking!
x-posted to food_porn, picturing_food, cooking, bakebakebake