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Classic Pumpkin Soup with Bacon and Basil
This is a really wonderful soup recipe to make if you want a bowlful of heaven. Roasting the pumpkin means the natural sugars will caramelize. This enriches the taste of the soup, giving it more complex undertones and making it even nicer. The bacon adds a salty richness to this pumpkin soup recipe and the orange juice and onion add sweet, pungent notes. If you are looking for a great pumpkin soup recipe, this one is well worth trying.
There are lots of easy pumpkin soup recipes to choose from but if you want to make something extra special, why not try this deluxe pumpkin soup with bacon and nutmeg recipe?
The flavor is out of this world and this is a dish that will appeal to any age group and it is also suitable for any occasion. Fresh pumpkin is the best to use here but you could substitute canned pumpkin if fresh is not available. Obviously, the extra sweetness you get from roasting fresh pumpkin will be lacking but you could add a little brown sugar or maple sugar to counteract that.
How to Make Pumpkin Soup for a Dinner Party
Ingredients -
4 lbs pumpkin
1 tablespoon butter
Olive oil, as needed
¼ cup orange juice
½ cup heavy cream
2 diced slices bacon
1 chopped yellow onion
⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 sprigs basil, to garnish
6 cups chicken stock
3 slices toast, cut into croutons
¼ cup crème fraiche, thinned slightly with milk
Salt and black pepper
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut the pumpkin in half through the stem and cut each half into 3 pieces.
Take out the seeds and strings and put the pumpkin on a baking sheet.
Drizzle some olive oil over it and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 45 minutes or until it is tender but not falling apart.
When it is cool, peel the skin off, and dice the flesh.
Melt the butter in a big pot over a moderate heat.
Add the onions and bacon and cook until the bacon is golden and the onions are tender.
Add the stock and pumpkin and simmer for half an hour.
Let the soup cool for 20 minutes then liquidize it in batches in the blender or food processor. Strain it through a mesh sieve.
Add the orange juice, nutmeg and cream.
Reheat the soup and ladle it into 6 serving bowls. Decorate with the basil, crème fraiche, and croutons.
(Serves 6)
Wine Suggestion:
Which Wine to Serve with Classic Pumpkin Soup
Try a Pinot Noir with this pumpkin soup recipe. This light-bodied red wine might not sound like an obvious match but its violet and rose floral notes and gentle spiciness mean that it goes well with a sweet soup like this one. If you prefer white wine, you will not go wrong with a classic Californian Chardonnay.
Photo Description:
This elegant soup is not difficult to make but you can see from the photo how sophisticated it is. Whether you want to impress dinner party guests or give your family a meal to remember, this pumpkin soup recipe is well worth making. A classic fall favorite, this pumpkin soup features ingredients as diverse as orange, basil, and bacon. These fragrant yet strong flavors mean that a light-bodied red wine is a great accompaniment to this rich tasting soup.
Pairing Red Wine with Popular Recipes
Food and wine pairings are always up to the individual and what one person likes another might not like because we all have different taste buds and palates. It is still good to stick to a few general guidelines though and not make a big mistake like serving a heavy red wine with a delicate seafood appetizer or a meek white wine with red meat.
It is usually best to drink from light to dark, when serving a multi-course meal. This means if you begin with seafood or chicken and then have a beef dish, you will serve a white wine with the appetizers and then a red wine with the entree. It is unusual to serve red wine with appetizers or with the first course of dinner. If you do want to serve wine with your appetizers, pick something light and fruity like a Beaujolais. Remember that people prefer heavier wines in the evenings so serve a Pinot Noir or a similarly light red wine with lunch or something like a Cabernet Sauvignon in the evening. Cabernet Sauvignon would be an unusual choice for lunch because of its boldness.
Examples of Red Wine Pairing
Red wine is great with heavier foods like tomato-based pasta dishes, steak and so on. Any red wine is nice with strong cheese and red wine with cheese is a classic wine pairing. Port wine or anther fortified wine can be good with strong cheeses too. Avoid it if you are serving mild cheese, pasta in creamy sauce, seafood, fruit, or dessert. For beef or steak recipes, choose a Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, or Cabernet. Merlot is great with beef because its fruitiness will bring out the salty savory flavor of the meat. A Beaujolais would be too fruity for beef but you can serve Beaujolais with most pork recipes. Pinot Noir is nice with pork as well.
If you want to serve red wine with chocolate, try a Cabernet or Merlot. A port wine is even better. It is best to avoid red wine if you are serving Asian food. The characteristic sweetness and spices in Asian food are difficult to match with a red wine and you can ruin the flavor of both the wine and the food if you make a bad pairing. Cabernet Franc is usually fine with Asian dishes but it can be risky so you might prefer to try a fruity white wine with your oriental food instead.
Cabernet Sauvignon or a peppery Shiraz would be wonderful with hearty entrees like lamb, beef, or casseroles. Merlot is nice with chicken, tuna, stews, classic pumpkin soup, or barbecued food. Pasta and Pinot Noir and great together. This is partly because Pinot is a light wine, which is really versatile. Turkey, ham, grilled vegetables, salmon, pumpkin soup recipes and Fontina cheese are also fantastic with it.
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