Meritage Restaurant’s Harvest Pumpkin Soup

Katie Cannon / Heavy Table
Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

As the weather turns chilly, many turn to soup for comfort and warmth. Chef Russell Klein, of Meritage in St. Paul, shares his recipe for Harvest Pumpkin Soup. The soup, based on his mother’s recipe, is a signature dish of Klein’s, back from his time at W.A. Frost. He brought it with him to Meritage where, Klein says, “it’s much anticipated by some of our regulars.” Regulars will be happy to know that it debuted for the season last week on both the lunch and dinner menu. 

Harvest Pumpkin Soup
serves 6-8

2 sugar pumpkins
5 shallots, thinly sliced
½ onion, sliced thin
1 stalk celery
1 carrot
3 garlic cloves
1 c sherry wine
1 c brown sugar packed
2 tbsp cinnamon, ground
2 tsp nutmeg, ground
¼ tsp mace
2 qts vegetable stock
2 c heavy cream
½ lb butter, melted
salt & pepper, to taste

1. Do not peel the pumpkin. It will be much easier to peel after it is cooked. Carefully cut the pumpkin in half. Remove the seeds and membrane and coat the inside “bowl” of the pumpkin with half of the butter and half of the spices and sugar. Place on a cookie sheet and roast in a 350°F oven until tender.

2. In a large stock pot add the remaining butter over medium heat and cook the vegetables until tender, but not brown. Add the sherry and reduce by half.

3. Add the roasted pumpkin and all the remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Place the soup in a blender or food processor (a blender will yield a smoother consistency) and carefully puree the soup.

5. You can garnish the soup with nuts, whipped cream, or crème frâiche.

3 Comments

  1. Kristi

    Has anyone tried this with squash instead of pumpkin? I have a ton of winter squash from my CSA that I’m trying to use. If not this recipe, than any good squash soup recipes?

  2. Katie

    I haven’t tried this recipe with squash, but we do have a squash recipe that will come out on Heavy Table on Friday…stay tuned!

  3. Carol

    Approximately how much pumpkin do you get out of 1 sugar pumpkin? I’d like to make this with canned pumpkin but don’t know how much to use. Thank you.

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