SOUP BLISS ~ Pumpkin Apple Soup with Dried Fruit, Pine Nuts, Chile de Arbol

SOUP BLISS

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Apple Soup
Dried Apricot, Cherries, and Raisins
Pine Nuts, Chile de Arbol, Creme Fraiche, Chive Blossoms

Come. Come closer. Look. Look deep into my soup… Experience the hypnotic quality of curry. Let dainty chive blossoms enchant you, let the smoky hot chile de arbol ignite your passions. This is no ordinary soup. It has the power to transport …to soup nirvana.

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Apple Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 apple – peeled and sliced
• 1 shallot – sliced
• 1 t. olive oil
• 1 t. curry powder
• 10 oz. pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 c. vegetable broth
• 1/2 c. creme fraiche
• salt to taste

In a medium soup pot, cook apple and shallot in olive oil until soft. Add curry and cook for another minute. Add pumpkin and vegetable broth, bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly then blend until smooth. Add creme fraiche and blend again. Season to taste with salt.

This soup can be served immediately – hot. Or refrigerated overnight, letting the flavors meld – and served cool. I actually prefer the cool version.

Chile de Arbol

Break open chiles de arbol and shake out the seeds. In a small saute pan, cook chiles in olive oil over medium high heat until the chiles start to turn dark. Remove from heat but let the chiles sit in the oil to continue to flavor the oil. When the oil/chile mixture comes to room temperature, remove the chiles with a slotted spoon to paper towels. Reserve the oil for the soup garnish. Drain the chiles then chop into small pieces.

Dried Fruit, Pine Nuts, Chile de Arbol

Chop dried apricots and dried cherries into smaller pieces. Toast pine nuts in a small dry pan until golden. Toss nuts with raisins, apricots, cherries and chile de arbol flakes.

Soup Garnish

Place chile de arbol oil in a squeeze bottle.

Mix creme fraiche with a small amount of water to achieve a runny consistency. Place in a squeeze bottle.

Ladle soup into bowls. Dot with creme fraiche. Use a skewer or any pointy tool to spread the creme fraiche in a pattern. Add dots of chile oil.

Soup Bliss

Sprinkle the fruit, nut, chile mixture over the soup. Finish with Chinese chive blossoms.

The Chinese chives in my garden are in bloom right now. The edible flowers have a definite garlicky-oniony flavor. In addition adding a touch of whimsical beauty, the savory flavor harmonizes with the sweet dried fruits in this soup.

Enjoy soup nirvana…

Fall Fest

featuring pumpkin

Fall Fest is a season long franchise where Food Network editors team up with bloggers to share recipes about everyone’s favorite Autumn fruits and vegetables. Be sure to check out the Pinterest Board with over 100,000 followers called Let’s Pull Up A Chair! And if this Pumpkin Apple Soup Bliss got you in the mood for all things pumpkin, you might enjoy taking a peek at other fall recipes from some fabulous bloggers below…

Napa Farmhouse 1885: Thai Pumpkin and Coconut Soup
Red or Green: Pizza with Red Chile Pumpkin Sauce, Black Beans and Fresh Corn
Devour: Easy Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Feed Me Phoebe: Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Soup
Virtually Homemade: Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino 
Weelicious: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
The Lemon Bowl: Healthy Baked Mac and Cheese with Pumpkin
The Heritage Cook: Chile-Pumpkin Hummus
Dishing: Pumpkin Browns/ Pumpkin Hash Browns
In Jennie’s Kitchen: Pumpkin Scones
Cooking With Elise: Hearty Pumpkin Pasta
And Love It Too: Paleo Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Blue Apron Blog: Baked Pumpkin Stuffed with Millet and Caponata
Dishin & Dishes: Pumpkin Pancakes with Maple Cinnamon Pecan Syrup
Domesticate Me: Harvest Pumpkin Soup with Candied Bacon
The Sensitive Epicure: Pumpkin Panna Cotta with Pumpkin Seed Brittle
FN Dish: Cook Pumpkin from the Patch
Taste With The Eyes: Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Apple Soup with Dried Fruit, Pine Nuts,Chile de Arbol
Creative Culinary: Pumpkin Beer Bread with Pumpkin Butter Spread