Spiced Squash, Fennel and Pear Soup from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan

So, what’s the chance you are reading a recipe and it requires a Long Island Cheese Pumpkin and you just happen to have one?  Well, those chances are pretty darn good if you live at my house!  All I needed to do was look into the dining nook! 😉

I had one just waiting to be used in this soup!

Remember all of these Heirloom pumpkins?  I am still staring at two of them (big ones!) and not exactly sure what to do about it.  How much pumpkin can two human beings consume over the Fall and Winter?

What a beautiful collection of Heirloom pumpkins!

I have prepared pumpkin in all sorts of ways…French Pumpkin Soup, Pumpkin Muffins with a Cream Cheese Frosting, Pumpkin Risotto, Pumpkin Pie with Bourbon Whipped Cream, Pumpkin Ice Cream and I still have a few pumpkin surprises coming.  What’s a gal to do with all of these pumpkins?  I think the last two will make their way to the oven for roasting and then into the freezer, so I won’t ever have to buy pumpkin again!

So, back to this soup…I recently purchased Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table.  I went through the entire book and found myself saying, I should cook my way through this!  Now, I don’t want to be another Julie and Julia, but I could be tempted! 😉

There are very few cookbooks that excite me, but I have found one that does!  This is my kind of cooking.  It is French (with a few other influences), the recipes are prepared with fresh and not too difficult to find ingredients and they are approachable.  I just love it and look forward to working my way through the book!

Aromatics, Fennel, Bosc Pears and Citrus Fruit for the soup.

This was the phenomenal soup that I served with my Baked Ham and Farmhouse Cheddar Paninis with Spicy Fig Jam.  The pumpkin, fennel and pear work so well together.  The flavors are bright and fresh.  The recipe is perfect just as written.  I did use my own homemade chicken stock for a really nice texture and flavor.  I always think that makes a huge difference in the finished dish.

This pumpkin smelled sweet and was a deep orange in color.

If you do not happen to have a Long Island Cheese pumpkin hanging around your house, you can substitute an Acorn or Butternut squash.

There were lots of seeds, but not much flesh in this pumpkin.

I did not add the additional chicken stock to the finished soup after pureeing (which was optional in the recipe).  I liked the soup a bit heartier.  I did serve it with a small dollop of Crème Fraiche (as suggested), but it was also very good without.  Mr. B liked the addition of lemon to cut the sweetness.  I liked it before I added the lemon, but enjoyed it equally well with it.

The texture was similar to spaghetti squash.

Roast the pumpkin, drain it overnight and then freeze it for later use, unless you are using it for this soup.

I have not provided the recipe here to respect the author and the newness of the cookbook.  If you love to cook and adore French food, I suggest that you purchase Around My French Table.  You will not be disappointed!

I will be featuring some of these recipes on Bunkycooks as I prepare them at home, so I hope you will also invest in this cookbook to follow along!