Spicy Pumpkin Soup with Croutons and Crispy Fried Onions

By vealam

Ingredients

• CROUTON:
• 12 slices of a small (~3 inch diameter, ~1/2-inch slices) sourdough baguette, cubed
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• SOUP:
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1 (29-ounce) can pure pumpkin purée
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• GARNISH:
• 1/2 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds; for topping)
• 1 cup french fried onions (like French’s; for topping)
• Hot chile oil (for topping)

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from willowbirdbaking.com

Preparation

Step 1

Prepare your mise-en-place:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and cover 2 baking sheets with foil.
Prepare a paper towel lined plate for draining the croutons when they’re done.
Melt the butter for croutons and mix in garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, and salt.
Put olive oil into a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot on the stove.
Put chopped onion, garlic, and jalapeño into medium prep bowl.
Put cumin, oregano, cinnamon, and salt into small prep bowl.
Open cans/packages of stock and pumpkin.
In a small prep bowl, mash together softened butter and flour (this is called a beurre manié and is used to thicken soups)
Put red wine vinegar and honey into two small prep bowls
Prepare a dish with pepitas and fried onions and set this with the bottle of chile oil on the dinner table.
Once mise-en-place is prepared, this soup is super (souper?) easy to prepare. First, make the croutons. Pour the butter and garlic powder mixture over the bread cubes and toss them to coat. Spread the bread cubes out on the baking sheets in a single layer, making sure they don’t touch. Bake for around 20 minutes, flipping occasionally. Allow the croutons to cool on a paper-towel lined plate.

Make the soup. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat until it starts to shimmer. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeño into the pot and cook for 3-5 minutes or until softened. Add cumin spice mixture and cook for another 1 minute or so. Add stock, pumpkin, and beurre manié to the pot and stir to mix. Heat this to boiling before turning it down to a simmer. Simmer for around 20 minutes. Add red wine vinegar and honey and simmer for 3-5 more minutes. Use an immersion blender (or a regular blender covered with a dish towel — if you do this, blend in small batches, opening the blender vent and being careful of the hot liquid) to purée the soup.

Serve the soup topped with crunchy fried onions, pumpkin seeds, croutons, and a drizzle of chile oil.