France for Freebooters

 

An Independent Traveler's View of 

France and its History

 

by Mike Kingdom-Hockings 





   

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Pumpkin Soup - in a pumpkin 

by Mike K-H

I'm not fond of pumpkin, but this recipe is tempting and fun.

 

 

Ingredients

Serves 6 to 8 people

1 small firm, round pumpkin

1 large pot crème fraîche

1 litre milk

1 large bunch parsley

soft cheese

salt, pepper

Preparation

Thoroughly clean the skin of the pumpkin. With a sharp knife used perpendicular to the skin, cut a circle round the stalk to make a lid. Trim off any exces stalk, leaving a neat handle.

Use a sharp-edged spoon to remove all seeds and fibre from inside the pumpkin. Scrape off a little of the flesh and let it fall into the bottom of the pumpkin 'soup tureen'.

Salt and pepper the scraped-off flesh, and cover it wth the crème fraîche.

Add the milk, and whip the mixture thoroughly.

Using scissors, finely cut a generous portion of parsley leaves onto the top of the mix (about one tablespoon of parsley per person). Discard the stalks.

Replace the 'lid' and cook for 1hr 30 min in a preheated oven at 165 degrees C (thermostat 5 or 6).

Remove from the oven, lift off the lid, and grate the cheese onto the top of the mix. return to the oven, without the lid, and cook for a further 30 min, but do not burn the cheese.

Place the pumpkin on a serving dish, and decorate each soup plate with a little flesh from the lid.

* * *

One day, I'll start testing these recipes and taking photos...

Have fun. 

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Not where the recipe here came from, but if you want the bible for classy French cooking, follow my friend Luc. He bought this English translation when he ran a restaurant in Henley-on-Thames, because it was easier to work with English ingredients using it. Plenty of 'why' and 'how to' as well as superb recipes.
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Paul Bocuse - French Regional Cooking