Jamie's superb pumpkin soup with parmesan croutons

by **Nanneerose** Tue Apr 22, 2014 7:23 pm

Ingredients

2 red onions
2 carrots
4 garlic cloves
2 stalks celery
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 to 1 fresh red chilli, to taste
2kg pumpkin
Olive oil
16 fresh sage leaves
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 L chicken or vegetable stock, preferably organic
Extra virgin olive oil

Croutons
16 slices ciabatta bread
Extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan, for grating

Method

Step 1
Peel and chop the red onions, carrots and garlic. Trim and chop the celery. Pick rosemary leaves and discard the stalks. Deseed and finely chop the chilli. Carefully halve the pumpkin lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a spoon and cut into chunks.
Step 2
Put a saucepan on a medium heat and add a couple of lugs of olive oil.
Step 3
Add the sage leaves and fry for around 30 seconds or until dark green and crisp.
Step 4
Quickly remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with absorbent paper – you’ll use these for sprinkling over at the end.
Step 5
Put the pan of oil back on the heat and add the onion, carrot, garlic, celery, rosemary leaves, chilli and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are sweet and soft. Add the pumpkin and the stock to the pan and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for around 30 minutes.
Step 6
While the soup is cooking, make your croutons. Cut your ciabatta into 1cm thick slices. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the ciabatta slices and pat it in. Finely grate a layer of parmesan over each slice and press it on to the bread
Step 7
Place in a non-stick pan without any oil and fry on a medium heat until golden on both sides.
Step 8
When the pumpkin is soft and cooked through, whiz the soup with a stick blender or pour it into a food processor and pulse until you have a smooth puree (but you can leave it slightly chunky if you like). Have a taste and season until it’s perfect.
Step 9
Divide the soup between your bowls, placing 2 croutons on top of each. Top each portion with 2 crispy sage leaves and drizzle with a swirl of good-quality extra virgin olive oil.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/33267/jamies+superb+pumpkin+soup+with+parmesan+croutons

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30