Soupe Au Potiron Et Poireaux

Otherwise known as pumpkin and leek soup.

To help my Vegetable Tuesdays extend into the New Year, I asked for vegetable cookbooks for Christmas and got two: The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen (to compliment my copy of the original Moosewood Cookbook) and A Canon of Vegetables: 101 Classic Recipes by Raymond Sokolov. I find Sokolov a bit tiresome and egocentric, but the book has a friendly bright green cover, an attractive type-face, and the recipes are organized by vegetable type.

Tonight is my first night out with Sokolov and I've decided to start with the pumpkin and leek soup. Sokolov says of this soup, "Pumpkin soup is a classic home dish all over France. This soup is an obvious variation on potato-leek soup, less dour, brighter, yet thicker." Brighter is better. It's snowy and cold in Rochester today (like every day) and threatened to ice storm earlier in the morning. I sat through six hours of lecture today and only fell asleep for five minutes. I think that's an all-time high lecture/sleep ratio for me.

Ingredients:

3 cups well-washed, sliced leek (white and tender green parts)
1 pound pumpkin puree or 1 pound raw pumpkin chunks
Salt
Pepper
1 cup yogurt, sour cream, or heavy cream

Directions:

1. Combine the leek and pumpkin with 1 quart water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the solid ingredients are very soft, about 20 minutes.
2. Puree in a food mill or processor.
3. Season to taste. Serve hot or chilled. You may stir in the yogurt, sour cream, or heavy cream before serving (at which point adjust the seasoning) or pass a bowl of it separately so that it can be dolloped on by individual guests at the table.

Serves 6.

I used fresh leeks (3 stems), canned pumpkin puree, and 3/4 cup light sour cream and 1/4 cup fat free yogurt from Wegman's for this delightful soup. I left the lid on for the initial 20 minutes of simmering, and upon pureeing the soup I found it too thin so I simmered it on medium heat for an additional 20 minutes to let it thicken slightly. I added the yogurt and sour cream directly to the hot soup and ate it hot. Finding it bland without additional seasoning, I also added generous dashes of cumin, a more moderate amount of mace, and a bit of cardamom and oregano along with the salt and pepper. I found the spiced soup much more to my liking. Overall I found the soup wonderfully warm and subtle, a nice spot in the middle of a night of studying.

I would make this soup again, but not as a main course since it isn't filling enough by itself. I might pair it with a chicken or lamb main course and a hot roll or scone.