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Rutabaga or Swedish turnip is a root vegetable worthy of some love in Fall inspired dishes. Mostly milder in taste than the garden variety turnip, Its hearty texture and slightly bitter flavor add interesting tang and heft to soups. What a great idea to combine it with pumpkin to make this Rutabaga Pumpkin Soup.
This rutabaga pumpkin soup recipe is powered by thick cut bacon, shallots and a hint of spicy nutmeg. Consequently, all bring a ton of flavor to this beautiful creamy Fall dish. I love the flexibility of this dish and I love how pretty it looks on the table. Both are important when it comes to Thanksgiving recipes.
The soup is easy and unfussy enough to make for any fall or winter meal or is also a special addition to a Thanksgiving feast.
You will need to pureé the soup. If you do not have a stick or hand mixer, transfer the soup mixture to a food processor or blender before seasoning or adding the cream. Pureé the soup and then return it to the pot to heat up again
The recipe is easily adaptable to vegetarian diets. Just leave out the bacon step and skip right to browning the shallots. One less ingredient to use and one less to buy.
Rutabaga Pumpkin Cream Soup with Bacon
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 2 shallots
- 3 oz thick cut breakfast ham or bacon or speck
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil (substitute canola oil if you wish)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- 1 lb fresh rutabaga, peeled and cubed 1/2 lb fresh pumpkin, peeled and cubed
- 3+1/2 cups vegetable broth
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Instructions
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Mince the shallots. Cut the bacon into small pieces.
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Place a layer of paper towels next to the stove.
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Heat the sunflower oil and the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
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Add the bacon pieces to the hot sunflower oil/butter mixture and fry until crispy.
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Transfer the fried bacon from the pan to the paper towels. Let drain and pat off the excess oil.
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Add the minced shallots to the pan and cook, stirring frequently until they become transparent and golden in color.
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Add the fresh cubed rutabaga and pumpkin to the pan and stir to coat. Cook everything together, stirring frequently, for about 5 -8 minutes.
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Add the vegetable broth to the pan. Bring everything to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for another 30 minutes or until the rutabaga and pumpkin pieces are so soft, you can easily run a fork through them.
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In a dry frying pan toast the pumpkin seeds over a medium heat until slightly brown. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
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Using a stick hand mixer puree the pumpkin and rutabaga mixture. Alternately, transfer the content of the pan to a food processor, puree and then return the pureed mixture to the saucepan.
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Mix in the freshly squeezed lemon juice and nutmeg powder. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
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Stir in the heavy cream and cook for another 5 minutes over low flame.
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Remove the finished soup from the heat. Transfer to a soup tureen or individual soup bowls.
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Garnish with the fried bacon and roasted pumpkin seeds and serve.
