It’s almost Halloween which means pumpkins are at their peak!  On this episode we head to New Jersey to visit Phillips Farms, where farmer Marc Phillips shows us the different varieties of this scrumptious squash.  Then we head over to Franny’s in Brooklyn (one of my favorite restaurants) for Chef John Adler’s pumpkin crostini - a delicious mound of sauteed pumpkin atop toasted baguette spread with Salvatore Brooklyn Ricotta?  Yes please! Then it’s back to the kitchen for a local pumpkin soup that’s easy enough to make any night of the week, but delicious enough to serve as a first course for your Thanksgiving dinner.  The recipe is posted below the video so feel free to follow along!

Roasted Local Pumpkin Soup:

• 4 Cups Roasted Pumpkin (explanation below)
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 Shallot, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 8 Sage Leaves
• 2 Cups Chicken or Vegetable stock (plus more to thin out soup if desired) 
• 2 tablespoons creme fraiche (plus  more for garnish) 
• Chopped Chives
• Salt and Pepper to taste

FOR THE ROASTED PUMPKIN:

Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees.  Cut your pumpkin in half (I used a Hubbard Squash but you can use a cheese pumpkin, cinderella pumpkin, hokkaido squash, kabocha squash, etc.)  Take out the seeds and the strings (save for pumpkin seeds!) and drizzle with olive oil.  Liberally salt and pepper and put a pat of butter in the center of each. Roast for about an hour and a half, until it’s tender.  Allow to cool and scoop the flesh away from the skin.  

FOR THE SOUP: 

Heat the Olive Oil in your stock pot and add the onion, shallot and garlic.  Salt and pepper. Saute until tender, about 10 minutes.  Tear up the eight sage leaves, add them to the pot, and saute another 2 minutes.  Add the pumpkin and two cups of chicken stock and bring to a simmer.  Depending on the salt content of your stock, you may need to add more salt at this point.  Once it’s simmered for about ten minutes, blend the soup into a puree.  If the soup is too thick, thin it out with extra stock. Stir in the creme fraich, and serve! Garnish with a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprinkling of chives.