This is not a vegetarian soup. The reason is pretty easy: I needed a thickener for the soup but was out of cream. I remember going to dinner a while back & one companion ordering warm blood sausage and liverwurst. At the time, I didn't find the combination of sausage & warm very appealing. I still don't, to be honest, but it reminded me that blood sausage falls apart when warm. I thought it might be the last touch that I needed in an otherwise bland pumpkin soup. I didn't have any cream, so why not?
Result: very tasty, not meaty, subtle depth and no leftovers.
1 pumpkin, cooked in 1 L broth, spices to taste. Cook until tender, add 1 Tbsp blood sausage & puree.
Last night was Halloween, and I took some short cuts so I could wait for the Great Pumpkin.
They say there's a way for lazy people to make ravioli: use wonton wrappers instead of making your own pasta. I think that this is some sort of punishment for being lazy because wonton wrappers are for making wontons. Maybe other Asian dumplings. Not ravioli. Every time I have tried using this little short cut, I have ended up with some sort of failure. I believe the reason they recommend wonton wrappers to lazy people is to prove that if you want a good product, you have to put in the effort, so make your own pasta!
Luckily, I realized before my fragile packets exploded in a pot of boiling water that this was not going to amount to much. I reshaped my ravioli & decided to go more of a potsticker route. I kept the same seasonings (they were already in the mix) and I stuck to my plan of sage butter. I'm actually quite content with the results. They may have been a little greasy, but I think that's the problem with a butter sauce.
Pumpkin Potstickers with Sage Butter 300 g pumpkin, steamed until it falls apart 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp minced garlic 1/2 tsp thyme 1/2 tsp oregano salt & pepper 20 - 24 wonton wrappers oil 1/2 c water 3-6 leaves of sage, sliced 2 Tbsp butter 1/4 c white wine
Combine pumpkin, nutmeg, garlic, thyme & oregano until well mixed. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of pumpkin mix onto a wonton wrapper, pulling together the sides & sealing with water as needed. They should form a little pouch. When all potstickers are done, heat oil a pan over med-high heat. Add pot stickers for 2-3 minutes, covered, until brown. Add water, replace cover & allow to steam for a further 2-3 minutes. Add sage, and butter until butter melts, pan covered. Add white wine & allow the wine to evaporate.
I had these for dinner, sat back & waited to The Great Pumpkin to come. He didn't make it this year. Perhaps because I killed one of his kind. I'll know for next year.
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