Pumpkin-Pear Soup

"Amchur is dried mango powder, a very useful sour agent found at Indian grocery store." From The Soup Peddler's Slow & Difficult Soups

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1 (30 oz.) can pumpkin purée
• 4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon amchur powder, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon mace
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, or to taste
• 2 (12 ounce) bottles pear cider
• 2 cups half-and-half
• Salt

METHOD

Heat the vegetable oil in your soup pot over medium heat, then sauté the onions, carrots, and apples for 10 minutes. Decrease the heat, cover, and sweat for about 10 minutes more.

Add the pumpkin and water, stirring until well dissolved. Bring to a simmer and decrease the heat to low, lest you provoke volcanic upwellings of boiling pumpkin. Better cover it, come to think of it.

Once all the ingredients are soft, remove from the heat and purée with an immersion blender.

Add the amchur solution, mace, brown sugar, pear cider, and half-and-half and stir until the sugar dissolves and everything is thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt, adjusting the sugar and salt to balance the sourness of the amchur. Serve hot.

Serves: 6 to 8

Copied with permission from ©2005 David Ansel, The Soup Peddler's Slow and Difficult Soup, published by Ten Speed Press

back to book review

back to Thanksgiving page       back to holiday soups - Christmas and Thanksgiving

 

top of page