Pumpkin Soup with Roasted Red Pepper Mousse

This recipe was born out of our laziness.  We were hosting a Thai woman for a professional exchange program over Halloween and thought it would be fun to carve pumpkins with her for the celebration.  Turns out we never carved the pumpkins and ended up having two carving pumpkins that we didn't want to waste. So, the most obvious solution was to puree the pumpkins and make something delicious. We ended up making two somethings delicious.  Pumpkin soup and pumpkin bread.  See the subsequent post for the pumpkin bread.

I found this recipe on Epicurious.com, and thought it was good enough to share.  I didn't make any additions, but I think it would be better to add some hot peppers or sriracha pureed with the roasted red peppers to spice it up.  As it was, the combination of soup and mousse was very intriguing and tasty!  The pumpkin soup provided a thicker, heartier base that, when combined with the lighter, fluffy mousse, created the perfect airy yet robust soup.

Recipe

The soup and mousse lasted about 5 days in our fridge, but were definitely better the earlier they were consumed.

For mousse 1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained, rinsed, and patted dry 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon Sherry vinegar (we used red wine vinegar) 1/4 teaspoon hot smoked paprika 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-ounce envelope) 2 tablespoons water 1/3 cup chilled heavy cream For soup 5 carrots, chopped (1 1/2 cups) 1 large onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf (I didn't have one, and it still tasted good) 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 4- to 4 1/2-pound pumpkin or butternut squash, seeded, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces (9 cups) 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (40 fluid ounces) 3 1/2 cups water Preparation: Make mousse: Purée peppers, oil, vinegar, paprika, and salt in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Sprinkle gelatin over water in a 1-quart heavy saucepan and let stand 2 minutes to soften. Heat mixture over low heat, stirring, just until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in pepper purée 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat cream in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until it just holds soft peaks. Fold in pepper mixture gently but thoroughly, then cover surface of mousse with plastic wrap and chill until set, at least 2 hours. Make soup while mousse chills: Cook carrots, onion, garlic, and bay leaf in oil in a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add pumpkin, salt, cumin, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until pumpkin begins to soften around edges, about 15 minutes. Stir in broth and water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are very tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Blend soup in batches in cleaned blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), transferring to a bowl. Just before serving, return soup to pot and reheat over low heat. Ladle soup into bowls and top each serving with 1 1/2 tablespoons mousse.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Pumpkin-Soup-with-Red-Pepper-Mousse-230968#ixzz2HcdLF1of