Smoked Pumpkin Soup for the Arrival of Fall

Today was the first day in the San Francisco Bay Area that really felt like fall.  The air had a slight bite to it, the sky was overcast and halfway through the day a light rain began falling.  Yellow and orange leaves were showing off their splendor, and porches everywhere sported large pumpkins, hay bales, and cornstalks in preparation for Halloween.  It wasn't difficult to find inspiration for tonight's dinner - Smoked Pumpkin Soup with garnishes of Spiced Curry Oil, Pumpkin Seed Butter and Cilantro Mojo Sauce.

The differentiating factor in this soup was the smoked pumpkin.  Smoke always adds a great layer of complex flavor, but on this day it also added emotion by evoking cozy memories of sitting by a warm wood fire with a great glass of wine.

After brushing the pumpkin wedges with Spiced Curry Oil, I wrapped half in foil and let the other piecess sit directly on the grill of my Traeger smoker. I wanted to test the difference between the two cooking methods, because I feared that the unwrapped wedges would dry out too much.  Wrapping loosely in foil would still allow smoke to permeate but would also trap some steam to keep the squash moist.

After the pumpkin smoked for 45 minutes, I taste tested each batch.  I preferred the unwrapped flesh because it had a more caramelized, sweet flavor but I appreciated the fact that the steamed pieces were much easier to scrape from the skin. Nonetheless, when I make the soup again I think I'll forego the foil wrap.




I served this soup with a delicious home made garlic naan, the recipe for which I found here:
Step by step recipe for naan bread.  I was not sure which wine to serve with this soup.  The creamy pumpkin flavors suggested sauvignon blanc or chardonnay, while the spiciness of the curry made me think that maybe a fruity pinot noir or even a dry reisling might work.  I ended up opening three bottles and trying them all with the dish - a Siduri Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir, a Brooke Reisling from the Willamette Valley, and one of my perennial favorites - St. Supery Virtu which is a Sauvignon Blanc - Semillon Bordeaux style blend.  The blend was the clear winner, having a perfect balance of acidity and fruit without competing with the subtle smoke and curry flavors of the soup.  

Smoked Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

1 sugar pie pumpkin, about 3 lbs
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, unsalted & preferably home made
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh mild curry powder

Spiced Curry Oil (recipe follows)
Pumpkin seed butter (recipe follows)
Cilantro Mojo Sauce (see note below)

Serve with fresh garlic naan - either homemade (I used this recipe ) or purchased.

1.  Prepare the Spiced Curry Oil  Makes 1 cup;  5 minutes prep time, 2 hours wait time
Ingredients:
1 cup grapeseed or other mild flavored oil, heated slightly in the microwave (~25 seconds)
2 Tbsp mild curry powder
3/4 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together and let flavors blend for at least 1 hour.  The oil will keep for several weeks covered in the refrigerator and can therefore be made ahead.

2. Smoke the pumpkin  Makes 2 cups of puree.  10 minutes prep time.  45 minutes cook time.
Cut the pumpkin in half from stem to base and remove the seeds (save for roasting later).  Cut each half into three wedges and brush each wedge with a coating of Spiced Curry Oil.  I have a Traeger smoker so I set it to 350 degrees, used Applewood pellets, and smoked for 45 minutes.  The goal is to roast the pumpkin so that it's soft enough to scoop out of the skin when finished.

3. Prepare the Pumpkin Seed Butter Makes 1 cup nut butter.  10 minutes prep time.
Ingredients:
1 cup hulled pumpkin seeds, toasted in a skillet until they start to brown and pop
1/4 cup Spiced Curry Oil

After the seeds are toasted, add them with the oil to a high speed blender and puree to the consistency of peanut butter.  Scrape out of the blender and reserve until plating.

4. Prepare the Cilantro Mojo Sauce Makes 1 cup;  5 minutes prep time
This recipe is from Mommy's Home Cooking blog.  I chose it because it had the flavor profile I was looking for - cilantro & garlic with some vinegary acidity  - but also because I liked the addition of the orange juice that I thought would go well with the pumpkin soup.  You can find the recipe by following this link:    Cilantro Mojo Sauce

5.  Prepare the soup Makes 4 cups.  30 minutes prep time
Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan.  Add the sliced shallots and minced garlic and saute on low heat until softened.  While these are cooking, use a spoon to scrape the pumpkin flesh from the skin.  Add to the onion-garlic mixture and break up into small chunks, stirring to combine.  Add in 2 cups of broth and stir well. Heat until the broth is warmed.  Transfer to a high speed blender and puree.  Return to the saucepan and stir in curry powder and salt to taste (about 1 tsp if using unsalted broth; less or none if using salted broth). Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for 5 -10 minutes until flavors are fully blended.

6. Plate the soup
Use the sauces to provide layers of both visual and flavorful complexity.  I made a ring on the rim of the bowl with the vibrant green cilantro sauce,  After ladeling a cup of  soup into the center of the bowl, I drizzled a spoonful of Spiced Curry Oil in a circle over the top of the soup.  Then I placed a tablespoonful of pumpkin seed butter in the center of the soup and added some fresh cilantro leaves for garnish.