Pumpkin Soup with Gruyere
A hearty soup blending pumpkin, tangy Gruyere and nutty sesame, is easy to assemble and will surprise with its dynamic melding of flavors. Note: the original recipe, from bonappetit.com, does not call for maple syrup, but it seemed to need a bit of sweete
Makes 6 to 8 servings
1 pumpkin (6 to 8 pounds), preferably Cinderella
1⁄4 cup (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons tahini 1 teaspoon paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups (packed) grated Gruyere 1 cup fresh bread crumbs made from white bread
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1 dried bay leaf
5 to 7 cups low-salt chicken stock
13⁄ cup maple syrup Flat-leaf parsley
Toasted pumpkin seeds and toasted sesame seeds for garnish Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut out a wide circle around stem of pumpkin to make a lid. Lift lid; scrape off any seeds and set lid aside. Scoop out seeds and strings from inside pumpkin.
Place pumpkin in a roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Rub pumpkin flesh with butter. Drop tahini inside and sprinkle paprika all over inside. Season inside lightly with salt and pepper. Add cheese, breadcrumbs, garlic and bay leaf. Pour in maple syrup and stock to come within 3 inches of the pumpkin’s rim. Cover with lid.
Roast pumpkin in preheated oven 1 hour. Remove lid; put lid flesh side up on pan alongside pumpkin and return to oven. Continue to roast until pumpkin flesh is soft when pierced with a knife (take care not to puncture skin), 30 to 90 minutes more, depending on size of pumpkin.
Discard bay leaf. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, gently scoop a big spoonful of flesh from sides or bottom of pumpkin into each bowl and ladle cheesy stock over. Garnish with parsley, and serve with seeds on the side.