Pumpkin Soup

By smmthill

Ingredients

• 1 med. onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 T butter
• 3 c canned pumpkin
• 2 14 1/2 oz. cans chicken broth
• 2 T brown sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 1/4 t fresh-ground pepper
• 1 c whipping cream
• 1 c finely chopped cooked smoked ham
• T cooking oil

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

1. In a Dutch oven, cook onion in butter till tender, but not brown. Stir in the pumpkin, broth, brown sugar, bay leaves, nutmeg and pepper. Bring mixture to boiling and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 min. Remove soup from heat. Remove and discard bay leaves. Stir in whipping cream.
2. Transfer about 1/3 of the mixture to a food processor bowl or blender container. Cover and process or blend soup till smooth. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Return all pumpkin soup to the pan and heat through.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, cook the finely chopped ham in hot oil over medium heat for about 10 min. or till ham is crisp. Drain off the oil. To serve, sprinkle the crisp ham over soup.