Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-Apple Relish

Cook Time: 25 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 8 first course, 4 entree servings


Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
1 fresh bay leaf
2 ribs celery with greens, finely chopped (save time and purchase celery already washed, trimmed and cut into sticks, this makes chopping fast work)
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or 2 teaspoons ground thyme
2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste
6 cups chicken stock
1 (28-ounce) can cooked pumpkin puree
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg


Relish:

1 crisp apple, such as McIntosh or Granny Smith, finely chopped
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Directions

Heat a medium soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Add the oil and melt the butter. Add bay, celery, and onion. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook 6 or 7 minutes, until tender. Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce, to taste, then cook flour a minute. Whisk in chicken stock and bring liquid to a bubble. Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate it into the broth. Simmer soup 10 minutes to thicken a bit then add in cream and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.


While soup cooks, assemble the relish: combine apple, onion, lemon juice, cranberries, chili powder, honey and cinnamon.


Adjust seasonings in soup and relish and serve soup in shallow bowls with a few spoonfuls of relish.

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

Cook Time: 15 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 to 6 servings


Ingredients

2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cups canned or packaged vegetable stock, found on soup aisle
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained
2 cans (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (found often on the baking aisle)
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 palm full
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1/2 palm full
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, eyeball it in the palm of your hand
Coarse salt
20 blades fresh chives, chopped or snipped, for garnish


Directions

Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add oil. When oil is hot, add onion. Saute onions 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, black beans and pumpkin puree. Stir to combine ingredients and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in cream, curry, cumin, cayenne and salt, to taste. Simmer 5 minutes, adjust seasonings and serve garnished with chopped chives.

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

Cook Time: 15 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
* 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
* 4 cloves garlic, cracked and chopped
* 1 medium onion, finely chopped
* 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
* 4 to 6 sprigs sage leaves, cut into chiffonade, about 2 tablespoons
* 1 cup dry white wine
* 1 cup chicken stock, canned or paper container
* 1 cup canned pumpkin
* 1/2 cup (3 turns around the pan) heavy cream
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ground or freshly grated
* Coarse salt and black pepper
* 1 pound penne rigate, cooked to al dente
* Romano or Parmigiano, for grating
* Pumpernickel or whole grain bread, as an accompaniment

Directions

Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion, as an accompaniment, recipe follows

Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1
tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it.
Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet
and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and
then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are
tender.

Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2
minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce
until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and
stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt
and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.

Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf
from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine
sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta
with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.

Serve pumpkin sausage pasta with pumpernickel or whole grain bread and
Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion.

Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion:

* 1 pound triple-washed spinach, de-stemmed
* 1 small Golden Delicious apple, quartered, cored, and sliced
* 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 1/2 tablespoons (a couple of splashes) apple cider vinegar
* 1 teaspoon grain mustard
* 1 tablespoon (a good drizzle) honey
* Coarse salt and black pepper

Place spinach, apple, and onion in a salad bowl. Place oil, vinegar,
mustard and honey in a small plastic container and fit lid on
container. Shake dressing to combine, 1 minute. Pour dressing over
salad, toss, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Yield: 4 servings