Pumpkin-Apple Soup & Blue Cheese
Easy Sweet and Savory Soup Dotted with Gorgonzola
Salads aren't the only thing that benefit from tossing on some blue cheese crumbles. Try sprucing up your soups with a liberal sprinkle of blue.
The tang of blue cheese is a wonderful complement to the sweet and savory combination in this recipe. The soup is substantial enough to be the centerpiece of you meal or use it as an elegant soup course for a roast pork dinner next time you entertain.
Pumpkin-Apple Soup
You Will Need: (optional) a hand-held immersion blender -or- a food processor -or- a blender
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2/3 cup chopped onion
1. In a soup pot or large saucepan over medium-low flame, heat the butter until it's foamy. Add the onion and sautee until it begins to caramelized, about 10 minutes.
- 2 cups applesauce
- 2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 14-16 oz can of pumpkin puree
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
2. Turn the heat up to medium and add these ingredients to the onions. Slowly bring it to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer long enough for the flavors to get friendly with one another, maybe ten minutes.
3, (optional) See how you like the texture of the soup. If you like it smoother, puree it with your handy hand-held immersion blender or, in batches, in your food processor or conventional blender. Return the soup to the pot and bring it back to a simmer.
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- pinch of cinnamon
- pinch of mace
3, Stir these into the pot and simmer gently another five minutes. Do not let it boil.
- 2 Tbsp brandy or bourbon (optional)
4. Stir in the booze if using and bring the soup back up to a simmer.
- 1 cup Gorgonzola (or other blue cheese) crumbles
5. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and add a good sprinkle of cheese to each. Give it the cheese a minute to start melting before serving.
Yield: 4 servings as a main course, 6 as a side / soup course
Wine Pairing: Serve with a light, fruit-forward white wine such as a Vouvray.
Choose the Cheese: Since crumbles is what you want, pick a well-aged blue. Some blue cheeses get more crumbly as they age, but not all. Ask your cheese monger about the cheese's texture. Better still, ask for a taste. Gorgonzola or San Ignacio Blue are two that get crumbly. Some actually get creamier, like Cashel Blue or Roaring Forties Blue.
About Gadgets: Maybe it's built in with the guy-gene, but I love gadgets. But you have to be choosy unles you have a cavernous kitchen with acres of counter space. I don't. Too often gadgets get relegated to the back of the drawer or cupboard or eventually basement until you get sensible and put it in a garage sale.
One gadget I can recommend is the hand-held immersion blender. If you like to make soup, you'll wonder how you survived without it. Transferring in batches to the food processor or blender inevitably makes more mess to clean up. Besides, using the immersion blender (a.k.a. "motor boat") is fun.
For more souper ideas, try:
