When I asked Anne Shadle at the Mayan Café if she could share an autumn recipe, preferably featuring pumpkin, with Louisville.com readers, it was right up her alley. The restaurant’s current monthly specials all feature pumpkin as a seasonal ingredient. What’s more, pumpkin is used often in Mayan cooking all year around. You will often see pumpkin seeds or pumpkin oil in a variety of dishes there, because they are “celebrating the pumpkin all year long.” This month, the salad special includes pickled pumpkin and an entrée special combines pumpkin seeds with spaghetti squash.
Anne shared this soup recipe, which features the creaminess of roasted pumpkin and poblanos, and is appropriate for even novice cooks. Enjoy!
MAYAN CAFE'S PUMPKIN SOUP
Serves 4 people
INGREDIENTS
1 small pumpkin
2 roasted poblano peppers
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp garlic
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp vegetable base
1/4 cup sorghum
salt to taste
pinch of cinnamon
PREPARATION
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel pumpkin (use potato peeler to remove pumpkin skin), and cut into quarters.
Put pumpkin on a baking pan, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 min to 1 hour.
Roast the peppers over flame (need a gas stove) until they look burned.
Cut peppers in half and remove seeds.
After the pumpkin is cooked, put it in a blender with the peppers.
Blend until pumpkin and peppers are soft.
In a sauce pan, put a tablespoon of canola oil and add garlic.
Saute garlic until brown.
Add the cream, veggie base, salt, sorghum, cinnamon and pureed pumpkin-peppers.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
Optional: Garnish with cheese or serve with bread.
The Mayan Café is located at 813 East Market Street. Call 566-0651 for reservations for lunch or dinner.
Photo: Shutterstock Copyright: Distrikt 3
