Halloween is over, and you need to do something with those pumpkins perched on your front porch. Don’t burn out on pumpkin pie yet; try this quick and delicious soup instead. If your pumpkins have already met their grisly ends as jack-o-lanterns, you can use canned pumpkin. But if you want to go the extra mile with an intact gourd, you can slice it up and roast it yourself. I sometimes roast mine in a barbecue pit with maple wood for another layer of flavor.
Smoked Pumpkin and Stilton Soup 4 Servings
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 tsp. Kosher salt, divided
1 large red bell pepper, diced
4 cups (1 30-oz. can) cooked pumpkin (or recipe follows)
2 cups vegetable stock
3 cups (¾ lb.) Stilton, crumbled and divided
1 cup heavy cream
• Place a large pot over high heat. Saute the olive oil and onion a few minutes, until translucent. Season with pepper and 1 teaspoon salt and saute another minute.
• Stir in the pumpkin and stock to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook 20 minutes. The pumpkin should bubble gently, but not quite simmer.
• Remove the soup from the heat and, working in batches if needed, use a blender to puree the mixture until smooth.
• Pass the pumpkin purée through a fine mesh sieve and return it to the pot over low heat. Be careful not to boil the soup.
• Stir in 2 cups Stilton and the cream, the season with pepper and the remaining salt, if needed.
• When the soup is warm, remove it from the heat and serve garnished with the remaining Stilton crumbles and a drizzle of olive oil.
Roasted Pumpkin Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the pumpkin into wedges and remove the seeds and pulp. Roast the wedges about 45 minutes, or until tender. Remove the skin and purée the flesh in a food processor. The purée can be stored in plastic bags in the freezer.
This article appears in Guide to the Holidays 2013.