We hope you all made it through Thanksgiving okay. Mary Kate and I only set two smallish fires on her stove, but no harm, no foul. There will be more posted about the “Fry-Day” Thanksgiving later on.
The reason I developed this recipe is because I had a pumpkin from the Community Supported Agriculture share I split with Mary Kate. I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin, I hated pumpkin pie in the long, long ago when I could still eat whatever I wanted. And I never eat pumpkin spice anything when the seasonal pumpkin spice everything starts. But I do like pumpkin bisque with a bit of onion, rosemary and sage. You could also do this with your left over butternut squash from Thanksgiving if you have any. I finished this soup just before the power went out on Wednesday the night before Thanksgiving, and the power did not return until Friday evening. It warmed up really well in my Jetboil camp stove set up on my dining room table while we had no power and no heat. Yeah, I know I’m not supposed to use them inside, and I’m not advocating that anyone else follow my poor example (don’t sue me if you do something dumb just because I did).
Pumpkin (or Butternut Squash) Bisque
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 Tablespoon of olive oil (or other safe for you oil)
- 2 cups of vegetable stock (I used homemade, here’s a link on how to make vegetable stock, or if you can buy safe commercial stock, have at it)
- 4 cups of cooked pumpkin or butternut squash (here’s a link on how to roast and make puree, also if you’re using pumpkin, make sure you use pie pumpkins or your bisque might be a little blah)
- 1/2 teaspoon of rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon of sage
- 2 Tablespoons of non-dairy safe for you margarine (I make my own margarine due to the corn thing, but if you can use Earth Balance, go for it)
- 1/2 cup of cashew milk (or other safe for you non-dairy milk, I make my own from this recipe but I skip the added ingredients other than water and cashews)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar (optional – you might not need it if you’re using butternut squash)
- A couple of squirts of your favorite hot sauce (optional)
- A bit of minced parsley as a garnish (optional)
In a large stock pot or dutch oven, saute your onions in the olive oil until they have some color, and they are softer, as shown below.
Once your onions are ready, add the vegetable stock. Make sure to mix in all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan into the stock to get all the flavor you can.
Add the pumpkin puree (you’ll note mine wasn’t that pureed), the sage and the rosemary.
I simmered mine for a bit to make sure my roasted pumpkin was tender, and for the onions to cook and soften further. Once I thought the pumpkin and onions were tender enough, I used my immersion/hand/stick blender to puree everything nicely.
Now add your margarine, and cashew milk, and stir well to incorporate. Taste your soup and add the salt, pepper, brown sugar, and hot sauce as needed. Ladle some into a bowl, sprinkle with your parsley, and bask in the warmth of the soup.