Parmigiano Pumpkin Soup

To start out with I want to just say that my Texas Caviar did turn out. I enjoyed immensely. And amazingly enough it is all gone. Thanks of course to Stacy taking some of it off my hands. Also I must say that it was a remarkably easy dish to make. And probably one I'm going to make numerous times. I now have a new dish to take to parties!

Now for today's recipe. Parmigiano Pumpkin Soup. I have never had this soup before, I found the recipe in American Lifestyle, the magazine the Mrs. Kimball sends out. I was flipping through the October/November issue and the photo of the soup just made me hungry. And reading over the recipe made me even hungrier, so I decided to go ahead and try it.

Parmigiano Pumpkin Soup

Art of the Slow Cooker- Andrew Schloss ( Chronicle Books, 2008)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into thin strips

1 large onion, cut into 1/8 inch dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can ( approx 28 oz) 100% pure pumpkin
2 quarts vegetable or chicken broth

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1.4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 cup cream ( at least 10% fat)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian ( flat leaf) parsley

Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium high heat. Add the prosciutto, and saute until crisp and frizzles. Remove with slotted spoon, and reserve. You can also substitute 3 slices of bacon cut into small strips. I did not do this step as I neither like ham nor bacon, but I can see where the addition of the meat would just top off the flavor.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion to the skillet, and saute until tender (do not brown). Add the garlic, and cook for a few seconds, until aromatic.

Stir in the pumpkin, broth, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Transfer to a 5-6 quart slow cooker, cover, and cook for 3 to 4 hours on high, or 6 to 8 hours on low. When I was doing this I do not have a slow cooker so I cooked it for 3 hours of medium low heat on the stove.

Stir in the cream and Parmesan, and heat through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and serve.

So I have been taking this soup to lunch with me for the past two days. And it is REALLY good. It definitely is not sweet, so if you are looking for a soup that resembles pumpkin pie this definitely is not it. This soup is closer to a squash flavor then the stereotypical pumpkin. Also I have to say it does travel and reheat very well. My microwaved soup lunches taste just as good as the first time I tried this soup. I don't know that I liked how long this soup took to make, possibly because I don't have a slow cooker, but I did feel the need to check on it about every 20 minutes just to make sure it wasn't burning. So I would definitely leave this for a day when you are willing to stay at home and watch it. All in all I give the soup 4 stars!