The pumpkin whisperer.
Photograph by Sam Armocido
Good food starts with good ingredients.
Like “haste makes waste” and the Lord’s prayer, this simple truism about food is firmly fixed in our minds, but its meaning is rarely considered. So is the fact that the best recipes begin with thoughtful consideration of the ingredients we use.
Galeux d’Eysines is a pale, peach-skinned pumpkin covered in peanut-like warty growths. Those “peanuts” are the result of abundant sugars building up under the skin. The dense, bright-orange flesh is relatively non-fiberous, delivering the smoothest purée of any pumpkin I know and, though sugary-sweet, the flavor is delicate.
While hearty Hubbard squash and Marina de Chioggia pumpkin inspire rich recipes, the peanut pumpkin wants a lighter touch: a stock infused with its flavorful seed mass, savory boar sausages and mildly-earthy, sweet Shitake mushrooms deglazed with dry Madeira wine.
Being the pumpkin-whisperer probably won’t get me my own television series, but it has delivered a spectacular soup recipe. And, after all, that’s far more important, isn’t it?
“Peanut” Pumpkin Sausage Soup
Serves 6
Silky Peanut pumpkin purée delivers a delicately textured soup made hearty with pork sausage, balanced with a garnish of lightly earthy Shitake mushrooms. Simmering the pumpkin seed mass in your stock builds layers of additional flavor and satisfyingly lets you use almost the entire squash but time can be saved by starting with already-made purée.
Photograph by Matt Hocking
Description
1 Galeux d’Eysines pumpkin, or 3 cups pumpkin purée
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
6-8 Shitake mushrooms, caps thinly sliced, stems removed and reserved
1 bay leaf
2 thyme sprigs
1/4 cup olive oil
3 fresh pork sausages, casings removed (I like a pork and sage sausage for this. Bratwurst and sweet Italian will work well also.)
1 onion, diced
1/4 cup Madeira wine
1 tbs chopped, fresh thyme
Pumpkin seed oil or fig-infused balsamic vinegar
Photograph by Matt Hocking
Directions:
Prepare pumpkin: Cut pumpkin and half and scoop out seed mass (these are the guts). Reserve. Cut skin from pumpkin and cut pumpkin into 2” cubes. Add 8 cups up pumpkin cubes to a 4 quart saucepan with 1/2 cup water. Cover, bring to a boil and cook until pumpkin can be easily mashed with a fork. Process with a food mill and reserve.
NOTE: You can start with canned or home roasted pumpkin purée and skip the step above.
Infuse stock: While pumpkin cooks, in a 4 quart saucepan combine stock with the pumpkin seed mass, Shitake mushroom stems, bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Brown sausage: Meanwhile, warm 2 tbs olive oil over medium heat. Remove sausage from casings and add to pan, breaking it up as it cooks. When browned, remove with a slotted spoon and reserve, leaving fat in the pan.
Begin soup: Add an additional 1 tbs olive oil to pot and return to medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Return sausage to pot, strain in stock through a mesh sieve, discarding solids, and cook for five to ten minutes longer.
Sauté mushrooms: While the soup simmers, warm remaining 1 tbs olive oil in a 10” skillet over medium-high heat. Add Shitake mushrooms and cook until they soften and edges begin to brown. Add Madeira and deglaze pan, scraping up any brown bits. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Finish and serve soup: Add pumpkin purée to soup pot with reserved sausage and cook five minutes longer. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a tablespoon or two of butter. Serve garnished with mushrooms and Fig Balsamic Vinegar.
TIP: If you are planning to use vegetable stock, just add the pumpkin seed mass to your carrots, onions and celery, and simmer for 45 minutes.
