I’m sorry for grossing everyone out with my last post. My mother told me that my blog is getting dark and asked me if I could possibly do something other than meat at the 3-star Parisian restaurant I cook at. I tried to explain that it was a very prestigious position, but she thought salads or pastry would make better reading material. Well, I don’t know anything more soul warming than a bowl of pumpkin soup so hopefully this recipe will take away any of the left over heeby jeebies from the baby boar post.
We serve this at the restaurant in the biggest pumpkin known to mankind. I’m sure the customers are totally surprised when they see it coming to the table. We add white truffle slices and oil to the soup (just a little bit – it’s strong!) and mix in an egg yolk right before serving to create the ultimate in luxury soup.
The recipe below is just the basic, but feel free to experiment with the truffle oil if you can afford it. I was allowed to try a white truffle slice the other day and it was delicious. This truffle grows mostly in Italy typically several inches below ground near the roots of oak and hazelnut trees. It is the second most expensive food in the world running around $3000 per pound for the very best – I was of course told this before being allowed to swallow my ever so thin sliver of truffle.
What does it taste like? Hmmmm, kind of like soil with yeast and mushrooms with a bit of honey and something kind of gaseous. Sounds delish, eh? The peak season is now so eat up – oh, and don’t kill anyone over them, okay? They’re not that good….
By the way, this soup doesn’t have any cream in it. Typically in France when you see a soup that says crème it means that the vegetable has just been pureed. You can add some cream at the end if desired, but it’s not necessary. Click on “Continue reading Pumpkin Soup” for recipe
Technorati Tags: 3-star restaurant, eggs, paris, pumpkin, soup, truffle, white truffle
Pumpkin Soup: Crème de Citrouille
serves 6-8
30g / 2 T salted butter
1 medium onion chopped
1 shallot chopped
1 potato peeled and chopped
950g / 6 cups cubed pumpkin (about 2 lbs.)
2 litres / 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground white pepper
Additions to experiment with:
1teaspoon white truffle oil
herbs to garnish with
1 egg yolk blended in with hand mixer at the end before serving
Instructions
1. Melt butter in a large saucepan and cook the onions and shallots until softened but not browned. About 3 min.
2. Add potato, pumpkin, and stock to pan. Season. Reduce heat to low and simmer for around 40 minutes. Test pumpkin and potato for doneness with a fork. They should split apart easily.
3. Transfer vegetables to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add some cooking liquid as needed to help purée. Return the purée to the pot and add more seasoning. Mix in some white truffle oil if you’re feeling adventurous and an egg yolk right before serving
Last year, I couldn’t find whole pumpkins in Paris, but this year I managed to snag one for carving. The presentation of the soup in a pumpkin is lovely!
As far as eating the things, it’s easier to find potiron at the market than citrouille. Are they the same?
THANKS GAWD! there are no dead animals. I don’t have to cover my face when I come to yr blog.. :))I was totally surprised by all the pumpkin decorations all over Paree and all the Halloween elaborations going on! I am with your Mom ALL THE WAY! Please, please spare us the entrails and other bits. It used to be fun to visit. I’ll watch Emergency Room if I want a bit of blood and guts. I love yr kitchen tales (not tails!!!) Puleeze. Even if it is Paris, France..
Believe me I never want to eat in that restaurant. I am cured.
xxcg
That is such a beautiful pumpkin, I want to be served soup out of one! Don’t worry, I wasn’t too disturbed with your baby boar post, just a little saddened. Though, I’m sure I would have gobbled him up in a second if he was served to me 🙂
Well, god knows I’m not eager to see flayed animals, but it is important to know where our food comes fromt.
The pumpkin is gorgeous: any idea of its variety? Can you describe its flavor? I just wrote about a visit to a farm growing EIGHTY varieties of squash and pumpkins.
Carol – sorry that I’ve been scaring you with my animal tales! I guess it’s just so new to me to recieve game that isn’t already butchered. Even when I was cooking in SF most of the time the meat came already prepared. You MUST come eat at the restaurant if you are still in town. You can order fish instead?
Tinfoiled – at the restaurant the soup is actually made from potiron and I would use this instead Citrouille. We don’t get them in the U.S (I have never seen them, perhaps Tana has?). Potiron is smaller and the flesh is sweeter and more firm. In the States I would use sugar pie pumpkins
Alison – You are brave! Have you ever eaten it before? I’m curious to know what it tastes like. There wasn’t any left after it was carved so I didn’t get to try it.
Tana – Yes, it is important to know where our food comes from and that is one of the reasons that I keep including some of the gory details because I think we have lost touch with that in the U.S.
I don’t know which variety the pumpkin but I can find out. Do you know which varieties make the best soup in the States?
Amy, please keep writing those sometimes dark but real stories about life in the restaurant. That is why I am hitting your blog every day, not because of pumpkin soup (although it is nice too). Your stories are fascinating, don’t stop. Merci 😉
I’m only brave with food 🙂 I’ve never eaten baby boar, only a mature, fat boar once. Very nice flavor, but it was gamey. The gaminess could have been just that boar though, it was rather mature.
I almost cried when I saw that baby boar… but I know that if it had appeared on the menu I most certainly would have ordered it. I agree with you that it’s good to know and deal with food preparation. I don’t know why… it just seems more soulful.
I kill assorted seafood with nary a problem, and prepared fowl and rabbits, but I’ve never ever killed a mammal for food. That would be hard to deal with.
In other more related news, it’s funny this post because just a couple of days ago I made a soup with a nice wedge of potiron, some thai herbs and coconut milk. A little SE Asian variation but just as awesome as a simple wonderful pumpkin soup. One time I also made pumpkin soup with boiled peanuts. That’s nice too.
I like this recipe a whole idea about soupe in pumpking.