Pumpkin Apple Soup

I love the vegetables of autumn. The squashes and pumpkins are so full of flavor and they are so hearty and delicious on their own, but are also so customizable to various soups, stews, breads and more. Apples are also a weakness of mine, and you cannot beat fresh apples this time of year. So this soup utilizes both fresh apples and pumpkin. It’s the perfect autumn dish, rich and velvety without any cream or dairy so it is the perfect soup to freeze. This soup is a fall staple in my house and I hope it becomes one in yours.

Pumpkins are everywhere right now, and for those of you brave enough to roast your own pumpkin and puree it, now is the perfect time to make this velvety rich soup. But I have made this recipe many times using a large can of pumpkin puree. It is important to be sure that you get pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix. The pie mix has a bunch of spices already blended in it and you don’t want that in the soup. 

I made this soup with vegetable stock, so it’s actually vegan and gluten free, However I have made it with turkey stock at thanksgiving. I’ve made it with beef stock to make it a meaty version of a vegetable soup for the meat and potato man in my house. It’s a flexible soup so you can use any stock you have in your house, just be sure to use low sodium. I also use stock not broth. Broth is a watered down version of stock and I don’t use it very much when cooking. If you prefer broth, by all means use it but you may need to bump up some of spices to enhance the flavor.

 

Pumpkin Apple Soup

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 large green apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

1 large carrot, peeled, halved and sliced

1/4 c dry red wine

1 29 oz. can pure pumpkin puree

4 cups vegetable stock

1 cup water

1 Tbsp. cumin

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. lemon pepper

1 tsp. black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp. ground ginger

1 Tbsp. fresh grated nutmeg (2 tsp. if using ground nutmeg)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

In a heavy bottomed stock pot, heat the olive oil. Once it’s shimmering add in the onions, once starting to turn golden brown add in the apples and carrots. Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally Next pour in the wine and scrape up any bits at the bottom of the pot. Cook for a minute and then pour in the pumpkin puree, vegetable stock and water. Whisk to well combine. this will take a minute so be patient  Now come the spices, add in the cumin, salt, lemon pepper, black pepper, bay leaf, ground ginger, and nutmeg.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. Taste to adjust seasoning.  Garnish with dried cranberries.  

To Freeze: Allow to cool completely. Put in a freezer proof container or Ziploc bag. You can either add the garnish before you freeze or after you reheat it. Either way is ok. This soup is thick so it will take a little long to freeze than a broth-ier soup, its ok this is normal.