Pumpkin Bisque with Lemon and Sumac: Delectable |

Our Pumpkin Bisque is wonderfully flavorful. The secret is that we use 1/4 of the kabocha pumpkin skin, lemon zest (a little), lemon flesh (a little), and the slighly tart sumac. (Sumac can be easily found in the spice aisle of your Whole Foods Market.) We have added red onion, thyme, marjoram, and sesame seeds to deepen the flavor, and turmeric to brighten the color of the Pumpkin Bisque.

What You Need:

1 Kabocha squash (31 oz to 35 oz), cut into halves, seeds and fibers discarded. That's 1 medium pumpkin.

2 tsp sumac

6 oz red onion, diced. That's 1/2 of a medium red onion.

2.50 oz organic lemon, cut into halves. That's 1 small organic lemon, or a little over 1/2 conventional lemon.

¼ tsp ground turmeric. (Turmeric adds color and nutrients. But do not use more turmeric than indicated here, because turmeric can overpower other spices and herbs.)

¼ cup white sesame seeds

1 tsp fresh marjoram leaves (about 2 sprigs of marjoram), loosely packed

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (about 5 spirgs of thyme), tightly packed

2 cups or 2.5 cups of broth (depending on the size of your Kabocha squash). We use a broth cube. Note: When cooking for myself, I use only 2 cups, since I like my soup to have consistency of a puree.

2 tbsp avocado oil for brushing the pumpkin

1.50 tbsp avocado oil for sauteeing the onion

salt and pepper to taste

¼ tsp ground chili pepper (optional). Use only if you want a spicy soup. I prefer without chili.

What to Do:

Set an oven rack on middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400 F. Brush the pumpkin halves and the parchment paper with avocado oil. Distribute 1 teaspoon sumac over the pumpkin halves. Arrange the pumpkin and organic lemon on the baking sheet, cut side down. Roast the pumpkin for about 40 to 50 minutes (until very soft when poked through) and the lemon for 20 minutes. Because cooking times vary, check the pumpkin for doneness after 30 minutes of roasting. When ready, set aside and let cool.

Meanwhile, preheat avocado oil or olive oil in a small skillet. On low heat, cook the onion, marjoram, and thyme until the onion becomes soft, for about 5 minutes. Add 2/3 teaspoon sumac, 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric, and sesame seeds and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring.

If using broth cubes, prepare 2.5 cups of broth (less or more, for the desired thickness of the Pumpkin Bisque).

Peel 3/4 of the pumpkin, leaving 1/4 of the skin on. Then roughly chop or tear the flesh and transfer to a large bowl. Zest 1/2 of the baked organic lemon or half of the baked conventional lemon piece. (In orther words, if using a conventional lemon, you'll have zest of 1/4 of lemon.) Peel the lemon and transfer the flesh to the bowl with the pumpkin.

In a high speed blender, pour the broth. Then add the pumpkin, lemon zest, lemon flesh, and the cooked onion with herbs and spices mixture. Blend on the soup setting. Serve the Pumpkin Bisque warm, sprinkling the left over sumac into each bowl.

Enjoy!

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Pumpkin Bisque with Lemon and Sumac: Delectable