Remember our recent post that discussed cooking down and pureeing a pumpkin for future use? If you haven’t had a chance to read it, please take a peek, then get that nearly frost bitten pumpkin that is sitting on your porch and get busy making your own pumpkin puree. You will need it for another of our recently posted recipes: pumpkin tartlets as well as this next pumpkin recipe that we’d like to share with you.

This recipe will both surprise and delight you. It was given to us by a relative who declared that is would become a Thanksgiving tradition. And, as predicted, it has been ever present on our Thanksgiving table. We would never think of omitting this from our celebration, not that our families would let us, always asking on Thanksgiving morning, “Are you making that pumpkin soup?” Of course we are and so will you once you give it a try.

However, our initial reaction to this recipe was “Huh? Pumpkin peanut butter soup? …ummm….hmmm. It sounds…ewww…not sure…” We would have made a sound effects specialist quite happy. Let’s be honest, we could agree that peanut butter and pumpkin are delicious flavors, but were they meant to be served hot, in the form of a soup? Well, we figured they might taste good together so why not give it a try. We looked over the recipe and read the ingredients for the garnish: sour cream and chives?!

We took out our pureed pumpkin, gathered the rest of the ingredients and set out to make what has become a must have soup. We took a taste of the soup sans garnish. It was tasty. Then we added the garnish and our reaction was quite the opposite of when we first read the recipe. We made one sound only: “Mmmmm!” The soup was absolutely delicious, garnish included and if not low in calorie, definitely healthy and nutritious, which is a bonus when children are involved.

We highly recommend adding this to your Thanksgiving Day menu. Because this is a filling soup you can serve it quite some time before the main course, which gives you a little extra preparation time with the turkey and all those side dishes. You will find that this soup is going to be the simplest dish you prepare on Thanksgiving and that it will become a hearty mainstay for late fall and winter dinners.

Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 cups canned pumpkin pie mix or 4 cups pumpkin puree flavored with pumpkin pie spices

2 cups cooked sweet potato puree

1 cup smooth peanut butter

6 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chopped chives for garnish

2 tablespoons sour cream for garnish

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.

2. Stir in pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and peanut butter.

3. Add vegetable stock, pepper, and salt. Stir till smooth.

4. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Serve garnished with sour cream and chopped chives.

Remember our recent post that discussed cooking down and pureeing a pumpkin for future use? If you haven’t had a chance to read it, please take a peek, then get that nearly frost bitten pumpkin that is sitting on your porch and get busy making your own pumpkin puree. You will need it for another of our recently posted recipes: pumpkin tartlets as well as this next pumpkin recipe that we’d like to share with you.

This recipe will both surprise and delight you. It was given to us by a relative who declared that is would become a Thanksgiving tradition. And, as predicted, it has been ever present on our Thanksgiving table. We would never think of omitting this from our celebration, not that our families would let us, always asking on Thanksgiving morning, “Are you making that pumpkin soup?” Of course we are and so will you once you give it a try.

However, our initial reaction to this recipe was “Huh? Pumpkin peanut butter soup? …ummm….hmmm. It sounds…ewww…not sure…” We would have made a sound effects specialist quite happy. Let’s be honest, we could agree that peanut butter and pumpkin are delicious flavors, but were they meant to be served hot, in the form of a soup? Well, we figured they might taste good together so why not give it a try. We looked over the recipe and read the ingredients for the garnish: sour cream and chives?!

We took out our pureed pumpkin, gathered the rest of the ingredients and set out to make what has become a must have soup. We took a taste of the soup sans garnish. It was tasty. Then we added the garnish and our reaction was quite the opposite of when we first read the recipe. We made one sound only: “Mmmmm!” The soup was absolutely delicious, garnish included and if not low in calorie, definitely healthy and nutritious, which is a bonus when children are involved.

We highly recommend adding this to your Thanksgiving Day menu. Because this is a filling soup you can serve it quite some time before the main course, which gives you a little extra preparation time with the turkey and all those side dishes. You will find that this soup is going to be the simplest dish you prepare on Thanksgiving and that it will become a hearty mainstay for late fall and winter dinners.

Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 cups canned pumpkin pie mix or 4 cups pumpkin puree flavored with pumpkin pie spices

2 cups cooked sweet potato puree

1 cup smooth peanut butter

6 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chopped chives for garnish

2 tablespoons sour cream for garnish

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.

2. Stir in pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and peanut butter.

3. Add vegetable stock, pepper, and salt. Stir till smooth.

4. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Serve garnished with sour cream and chopped chives.

It was uncommon for ancient people to have meat with every meal. Only the wealthy could afford such a luxury. Most meals consisted of some type of grain and/or bean. Florus, a Roman historian, gave a dinner at which he asked his guests what are meant by “salt and bean friends” as mentioned in a Greek proverb. The scholar Apollophanes answered, “The proverb refers to friends who are so close to us as to be content to dine with us on salt and a bean.”

We think any friend would love the following soup, which is not at all plain. Vegetable and bean barley soup is a flavorful, hearty soup that will warm you on a chilly fall day. Eat the soup with good multigrain bread that can stand up to being dipped into the hot soup. The multigrain bread is a perfect complement to the rustic soup.

It is our wish that you will have many “salt and bean friends” with whom you can share your meals. The recipe(s) come from a cookbook called “The philosopher’s Kitchen”

The Ancient Recipe:

Barley Soup with Dried Vegetables
Soak chickpeas, lentils and peas. Crush barley and boil with the dried vegetables. When it has boiled enough, add sufficient oil and chop the following greens: leeks, coriander, dill, fennel, beet, mallow and tender cabbage. Put all these finely chopped greens into the saucepan. Boil cabbage. Pound a generous quantity of fennel seed, marjoram, silphium, and lovage and after pounding blend with the liquamen. Pour over the dried vegetables and stir. Put chopped cabbage leaves on top.

-On Cookery, Apicius

Modern Recipe for Vegetable and Bean Barley Soup

Ingredients
1 large onion, diced
¼ cup olive oil
2 leeks, white parts, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, diced
2 celery ribs with leaves, diced
1 cup diced red cabbage
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
¼ cup barley
¾ cup cooked chickpeas
¼ cup split peas
¼ cup lentils
1 tsp dried marjoram
1tsp dried fennel seed
1 tsp ground coriander
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup fresh dill, minced

Directions
Sauté the onion in the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until softened. Add the leeks, diced fennel, celery and cabbage. Sauté for about 10 minutes
Raise the heat to high. Add the stock, barley and 3 cups of water. Bring to a low boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas, split peas, lentils, marjoram, fennel seeds, coriander, salt and pepper.
Simmer over medium heat until the beans and grains are tender.
Remove from heat. Stir in the fresh dill and serve.

A few notes:
Certain family members do not like dill and a few other seasonings. When making this for them finely diced pancetta is added to give the soup a hearty flavor. When adding pancetta us vegetable broth instead of chicken.
This meal can be made in a Crockpot. Be sure to sauté the vegetables before adding to the Crockpot.

It was uncommon for ancient people to have meat with every meal. Only the wealthy could afford such a luxury. Most meals consisted of some type of grain and/or bean. Florus, a Roman historian, gave a dinner at which he asked his guests what are meant by “salt and bean friends” as mentioned in a Greek proverb. The scholar Apollophanes answered, “The proverb refers to friends who are so close to us as to be content to dine with us on salt and a bean.”

We think any friend would love the following soup, which is not at all plain. Vegetable and bean barley soup is a flavorful, hearty soup that will warm you on a chilly fall day. Eat the soup with good multigrain bread that can stand up to being dipped into the hot soup. The multigrain bread is a perfect complement to the rustic soup.

It is our wish that you will have many “salt and bean friends” with whom you can share your meals. The recipe(s) come from a cookbook called “The philosopher’s Kitchen”

The Ancient Recipe:

Barley Soup with Dried Vegetables
Soak chickpeas, lentils and peas. Crush barley and boil with the dried vegetables. When it has boiled enough, add sufficient oil and chop the following greens: leeks, coriander, dill, fennel, beet, mallow and tender cabbage. Put all these finely chopped greens into the saucepan. Boil cabbage. Pound a generous quantity of fennel seed, marjoram, silphium, and lovage and after pounding blend with the liquamen. Pour over the dried vegetables and stir. Put chopped cabbage leaves on top.

-On Cookery, Apicius

Modern Recipe for Vegetable and Bean Barley Soup

Ingredients
1 large onion, diced
¼ cup olive oil
2 leeks, white parts, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, diced
2 celery ribs with leaves, diced
1 cup diced red cabbage
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
¼ cup barley
¾ cup cooked chickpeas
¼ cup split peas
¼ cup lentils
1 tsp dried marjoram
1tsp dried fennel seed
1 tsp ground coriander
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup fresh dill, minced

Directions
Sauté the onion in the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until softened. Add the leeks, diced fennel, celery and cabbage. Sauté for about 10 minutes
Raise the heat to high. Add the stock, barley and 3 cups of water. Bring to a low boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas, split peas, lentils, marjoram, fennel seeds, coriander, salt and pepper.
Simmer over medium heat until the beans and grains are tender.
Remove from heat. Stir in the fresh dill and serve.

A few notes:
Certain family members do not like dill and a few other seasonings. When making this for them finely diced pancetta is added to give the soup a hearty flavor. When adding pancetta us vegetable broth instead of chicken.
This meal can be made in a Crockpot. Be sure to sauté the vegetables before adding to the Crockpot.