A couple weeks ago while I was in Colorado for my annual elk hunt (obviously that didn’t work out due to the 100 year flood), pumpkins first came into season. I decided since it was raining and perfect Fall type weather, it would be perfect to try out a new soup idea I had been kicking around: Pumpkin Bacon Soup. Last year I made and posted a family tradition of Roasted Winter Squash Soup, which is still one of my all time favorites. With this, I wanted to keep the method the same, but change up the flavors.
So, instead of sage and butter, I decided to go more of a pumpkin pie spice combination. The result is this amazing pumpkin pie spiced flavor in the beginning and it finishes with a nice smoky bacon flavor at the end. In the words of Suzanne when I made it for her: “It’s like Fall in my mouth!” Can’t really ask for a better compliment than that.
- 1 pie pumpkin about 2 lbs, halved and seeded
- 1/2 lb bacon, chopped into ½ inch pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 apple, diced
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 tbs ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Pour 2 cups chicken stock in a baking sheet and place pumpkin face down on the sheet. The chicken stock in the pan will steam the pumpkin while it’s roasting and add a little more flavor.
- Place pumpkin in oven and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Let cool slightly.
- While the pumpkin is roasting, cook bacon in medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add onion, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cloves and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until onions are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in apple and remaining stock. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered until apple is tender. About 15 minutes.
- Scoop out pumpkin and add to pan and simmer for about 5 minutes. Let soup cool slightly.
- Strain off all liquid and set aside for later use.
- Purée pumpkin mixture in food processor or blender until smooth.
- Add purée back to pan and add liquid back into soup until desired consistency is reached.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy
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