Today’s recipe was from Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain cookbook – Pumpkin Soup with Cranberry-Maple Creme Fraiche, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, Chives. We had our first flop. The soup was simple to make, but it was heavily spiced with cinnamon and cloves. John is not a fan of cloves, and I admit, this was too much even for me. The cranberry-maple creme didn’t work out either. I used sour cream instead of creme fraiche, which was suggested as a substitute, and the creme was very thin instead of sour cream-like. I might try this again in the future omitting the cloves and cutting back on the cinnamon. I guess all the recipes can’t be keepers!
Pumpkin Soup
2 (15 oz) cans pumpkin puree, not flavored pie filling
3 to 41/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground Mexican cinnamon (or just use more regular cinnamon)
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
3 tbsps. honey
1 tbsp. pure maple syrup
1/4 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
Salt and pepper
Put the pumpkin puree in a large saucepan, whisk in 3 cups of stock, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the cinnamon, allspice, cloves, honey and maple syrup. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
Whisk in up to 1 1/2 cups more stock if the soup is too thick. Remove from heat and whisk in the creme fraiche or sour cream. Season with salt and pepper.
Top with a dollop of cranberry-maple creme fraiche and toasted pumpkin seeds and chives.
Cranberry-Maple Creme Fraiche
2 cups cranberry juice
2 tbsps. pure maple syrup
1/4 tsp. maple extract
1 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
Salt
Bring the cranberry juice to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to 1/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the maple syrup and extract, and let cool to room temperature.
Put the creme fraiche in a bowl, add the cranberry mixture, and stir. Season with salt. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 min. and up to 1 day to allow flavors to develop.
