Amanda Hesser's Pumpkin Soup with Leeks and White Wine

Amanda Hesser ... trained chef, New York Times food editor/writer noted for her books, The Cook and the Gardener, Cooking For Mr. Latte - A Food Lover's Courtship with Recipes and The Essential New York Times Cookbook, Gourmet Live's #22 of 50 Woman Game-Changers, one half of the team that has given us Food52 - a comprehensive food website/blog that gives readers everything from video 'how-tos' to cooking contests, to recipe archives, to articles on issues within the food industry to spotlight interviews with foodie members of the website, to, to, to ...

Amanda Hesser is a woman who wears many hats. Her breadth of experience, talent at writing, prolific number of books, articles, and columns on food, cooking, and the food business have put her in the company of more than a few prominent publishers, news editors, and food policy makers. She has written on everything from issues driving the cost of a bottle of wine to the dilemma in choosing the essential cookbook, from the foibles of a certain celebrity chef to the process of creating a 'community cookbook' via Food 52 and its readers. She and her partner Merrill Stubbs have published The Food52 Cookbook and continue to build Food52's website, resources, and blog. Enough said ... except ... not bad Amanda! Not bad at all!

I've been reading The Cook And The Gardener and have chosen a fall soup ... a pumpkin soup ... a creamy pumpkin leek soup ... with wine ... and milk and heavy cream ... the kind of soup that will love having a crunchy crusty loaf sliced up and toasted a bit, rubbed with some garlic and drizzled with some olive oil. It's simple and honest and I think, a fitting tribute to Ms. Hesser.

Pumpkin Soup with Leeks and White Wine

a recipe from The Cook and The Gardener

Ingredients:

1 large leek, split lengthwise and washed, one outer green blade reserved
2 tbps. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 sprigs fresh thyme
5 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
2 bay leaves
1 c. dry white wine
1½ lbs. sugar pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
5 c. Autumn stock (poultry based stock with mire poix and herbs and just a touch of tomato flavoring)
kosher salt
½ c. whole milk
½ c. heavy cream

Making the Soup:

1. Slice the split leek into thin half rounds, smash the garlic, and measure the oil into the bottom of a flameproof pot or heavy soup pot.

2. When the oil is hot, add the leeks and garlic and toss them to cover them with the oil. Sweat them for about 4 minutes.

3. While the leeks and garlic work up a sweat, tie the parsley, thyme, and bay leaves  into a packet wrapped in the reserved leek blade.

4. When the leeks are beginning to become translucent, add the white wine and the herb packet. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook the wine down to about 2 tbsp. - this is the flavour base for the soup.

5. Prepare the pumpkin cubes and measure out the stock. When the leeks and wine have reduced adequately, pour in the stock and add the pumpkin cubes.

6. Bring the stock to a boil and then reduce the heat, cover the pan and cook the pumpkin until it is very soft - about 20 to 25 minutes.

7. Remove the herb packet and whiz the soup with an immersion blender OR remove the soup from the pot and use a counter-top blender to make a smooth soft soup.

8. Return to the soup pot, correct the salt seasoning as necessary, add the milk and cream and warm the soup, but do not boil it.

9. Serve the soup in warm bowls with your favorite garnish. Have warm crusty bread and a glass of white wine to accompany ... enjoy!

Now! On to see what other foodies have created in tribute of Amanda Hesser! Please link to Mary's blog One Perfect Bite to read her post on Amanda Hesser and share her recipe for Butternut Squash Curry ! from there, you can link to many other sites that are also honoring Amanda. We share a recipe honoring one game-changer a week ... come join us on this 50 week blogging challenge ... there's room for more!