Spicy Pumpkin and Sausage Soup

Dan    Recipes, Soups     awesome, Dan Clapson, pumpkin, recipes, sausage, soup, winter

What you’ll need…

3 cups fresh pumpkin (1″ cubed)

2 large Italian sausages (casing removed, and Spolumbo’s of course!)

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 yellow onion (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups zucchini (halved, 1/2″ sliced)

3 cups kale (stems removed, loosely chopped)

1 14 oz can chickpeas

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 TBSP red wine vinegar

2 TSP lemon juice

1 TSP chili powder

salt and pepper

olive oil

Once snow appears on the ground and sticks around for awhile, I get a little soup crazy. Not like ‘Soup Nazi’ crazy, but just mildly obsessed with making soup at home. When I had Julie van Rosendaal pop by my Start From Scratch class a few weeks ago (to make Dill Pickle Soup, neat hey?), she reminded me just how much flavour some quality sausage can add to a pot of soup. The spicy, Italian sausage adds a nice heat to this hearty pumpkin, and veg-heavy, bowl of goodness. Best enjoyed with friends.

Start with preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Toss the chunks of pumpkin with a bit of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and let them roast in the oven until they’re fork tender, about 35 minutes.

While that’s happening, cook the sausage meat in a large pot on medium-high heat, breaking it up with a spoon as you go, until well-browned. Deglaze the pot with the red wine, then add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until softened, five minutes or so. Next, pour in the broth, remaining vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Once the pumpkin is ready, remove from oven, place into a food processor or blender with cream and puree until smooth. Stir the pumpkin puree into the pot, along with remaining ingredients. Let simmer for another 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper to finish. Done and done!

Serves 5-6

Total cook time…1 hour

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