Veronica’s Pumpkin Soup–Gluten-Free Progressive Oscar Dinner Party
This post is linked to Gluten Free Progressive Dinner Party, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesdays At The Table, and What can I eat that’s gluten free?
I have the honor of kicking off our Gluten Free Progressive Oscar Dinner Party. We’re all selecting meals related to Oscar-nominated movies. When it comes to the movies in the nominations this year, the one that speaks food the most is, of course, Julie and Julia. The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) describes Julie and Julia: “Julia Child’s story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell’s 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child’s first book.” I enjoyed this movie, largely because of my love of Julia Child and Meryl Streep’s charming portrayal of Julia. Make no mistake about it … it’s Meryl who brings Julia and, therefore, this movie to life. In my opinion, Streep’s Best Actress nomination is well deserved.
In Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child shared her pumpkin soup recipe. Hers was served in a pumpkin and included crème fraiche. While crème fraiche is very French and very delicious, if I’m the one making it, I want a simpler pumpkin soup. (And, sadly—or perhaps gladly—there are no pumpkins available to use as serving dishes this time of year.) My friend, Veronica, had mentioned her pumpkin soup recipe back in the fall. I finally asked her for the recipe and she immediately emailed it to me. Even better, she graciously gave me permission to share it with you, my gfe readers.
Veronica told me that her inspiration was a pumpkin soup made by her Belgian cousin. Veronica created a quick and easy, mild-flavored, but hearty version, which works as a meal. However, she used evaporated skim milk versus traditional cream, half and half, or crème fraiche as was used in Julia Child’s recipe. (You can read more of Veronica’s notes below the recipe.)
This soup can be made with either canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin puree. I had some puree in the freezer and the other ingredients on hand. This soup came together so quickly and I fell in love with its velvety texture and savory, yet slightly sweet flavor. Veronica’s Pumpkin Soup … it’s now one of those dishes that make me think comfort, warmth, and simple goodness. I think Julia would approve and I hope you do, too.
Veronica’s Pumpkin Soup
(Click here for a printable version of this recipe.)
1 onion, chopped fine
2 tablespoons butter
1 large can (29 ounces) of pumpkin (or equal amount of fresh pumpkin puree)
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 12-oz can evaporated skim milk, regular evaporated milk, whole, or 2-percent milk
In a soup pot, sauté the onion in the butter until tender. Add the pumpkin, broth, ginger, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Simmer for about 20 minutes to blend flavors, then add the milk, heat through, and serve.
Veronica’s Notes: Because I normally use boxed broth, I don’t add any salt. If you’re using homemade broth, you may want to add salt to taste. Canned pumpkin may be denser and heavier than most home-prepared pumpkin, so you may want to adjust the amount of your liquids. If your pumpkin isn’t pureed, you’ll need to mash or puree it before adding it to the soup. This makes a thick soup with some texture as I serve it as an entree, not an appetizer. Those who want a lighter, smoother version may want to send it through the food processor and add a bit more milk at the end.
Shirley’s Notes: Because I’m usually the only one eating this pumpkin soup, I use a 16-ounce can of pumpkin (slightly more than half the original amount in Veronica’s recipe) or 2 cups of fresh pumpkin puree. I also halve all the other ingredients. Using fresh pumpkin will make for a soup that’s a bit lighter in color and taste and slightly thinner as well because of the water content in fresh puree. I use regular evaporated milk because that’s what I have on hand most often. For the dairy-free folks, I believe non-dairy milk should work, but haven’t personally tried the recipe using non-dairy milk. Of course, non-dairy butter (or perhaps grapeseed or coconut oil) would also need to be substituted for the butter in this recipe to make it dairy free.
If you’d like to serve a bread with this soup, either my gfe cornbread or popovers would be a great accompaniment. They both are simple and easy recipes that would complement this soup nicely.
A little bit of history on my friendship with Veronica … Veronica and her family used to live at the end of our street. However, it was only after they moved to Belgium for a few years that she and I really got to know each other and became good friends. How is that possible you ask? Well, after her family was settled in Belgium, I found out she had a blog—now called Compost Studios. Her subtitle explains the title, but she shares writing, musings, art journal entries, photographs, and handmade cards at Compost Studios. I started following her blog faithfully. We’d chat via comments on her blog and exchange emails from time to time, and soon we knew each other far better than we had when we’d only lived several doors apart. It seems crazy, but I maintain that the connections many of us make via blogs are very much like the communication of pen pals of years ago. Slow and steady, so to speak, with just the right amount of committment to get to know someone. Incidentally, Veronica’s self-named professional blog is here. (If you need a professional writer, she’s your person.) Thanks so much for this very lovely pumpkin soup recipe, Veronica!
Okay, this year the Oscars can be more than fashion do’s and don’ts and yea’s and nay’s on movies. This year it can be about the food! Please visit the rest of the Gluten Free Progressive Oscar Dinner Party folks for more award-winning ideas:
Tuesday, February 23 – Sea from Book of Yum with appetizers inspired from the movie Avatar—Millet Eggplant Croquettes and Fried Chips (Two Kinds)
Wednesday, February 24 – Karen from Cook4Seasons with Kale Chips as Oscar celebration food, Diane from The WH.O.L.E. Gang also using inspiration from Julie and Julia—Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Whipped Cream, and me again, this time with Southern Fried Oysters for Crazy Heart
Thursday, February 25- Alison from Sure Foods Living with Simple Salmon Spread for Oscar party fare
Friday, February 26- Ellen from I Am Gluten Free shares her Roasted Potato Slices with Smoky Aioli Dip as part of her celebration food
Interested in having your own Oscar party? Visit Diane’s event page to print out ballots for voting and get your Oscar party kit. I really like the looks of The Red Carpet Party Fizz cocktail myself.
FYI—I plan to be back with at least one more Oscar-inspired main dish this week … please stay tuned. Last, there’s an Xagave and cookbook giveaway over on the Out and About page. Check it out here!
Shirley
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Crustless, Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie
This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Mondays (featuring Linda from The Gluten-Free Homemaker and offering a giveaway—subscription to Eating Well magazine!), Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free (pumpkin treats!), Friday Foodie Fix—Pumpkin, and Love the Pie! Party.
Sue is an active and enthusiastic member of a neighboring support group. She loves to bake. Several years ago, my good friend and former co-leader of my support group, Donna, had just been introduced to Sue. She couldn’t say enough nice things about her. Donna, in turn, connected the two of us. Sue and I had a nice long chat on the phone. That wasn’t hard to do since we both live to bake. We talked flour mixes. We talked cookies and cakes. Then Sue said, “You know about the trick of adding ¼ cup of flour to a pie to make it crustless, don’t you?” What??!! “No,” I answered. “Tell me more.” She laughed and said, “That’s all there is to it!” She went on to tell me that if you add ¼ cup of gluten-free flour to most pie recipes, like pumpkin, coconut, and such, you end up with a wonderful, crustless pie. I immediately pulled out my pie plate and ingredients for pumpkin pie, a family favorite. I added ¼ cup of gluten-free flour to my classic pumpkin pie recipe sans crust, loved the results, and I’ve never looked back. I don’t think you will either. Oh, and, you’ve probably already said to yourself … that’s gluten free easily—gfe!
I make this pumpkin pie for holiday gatherings, support group meetings, work functions, girlfriend dinners … you name it! Nobody even notices this pie has no crust. When I purposely ask individuals if they noticed that there was no crust, they are surprised and honestly say they didn’t. This recipe is perfect for Mr. GFE and Son because they always left their crust on the plate anyway. They just never liked crusts. So, no more sad, empty crusts left behind in my house. It’s all about the pumpkin custard flavor in this one, baby. You don’t even taste the small amount of flour added; it just holds the custard together nicely. Enjoy!
Crustless, Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie
(Click here for a print version of this recipe.)
2 eggs
1 can (16 ounces) pumpkin or 2 cups cooked fresh pumpkin (I used fresh pumpkin, hence, the lighter color and fresh pumpkin also provides a much lighter taste in my opinion)
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 2/3 cups evaporated milk (one regular-sized can)
¼ cup gluten-free flour (your choice—your favorite single flour or a mix; sift if needed)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease pie plate and set aside. In large bowl, beat eggs slightly; mix in remaining ingredients. Place pie plate on oven rack; pour in filling. (I never do this, but it makes sense. Personally, I’m in the “hum” or “count as you carry the pie to the oven” school of thinking to ensure the pie plate contents do not spill. Hey, it works for me!) Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake 15 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake until knife or toothpick comes out clean, about 45 minutes longer. (Pies made with fresh pumpkin may take slightly longer to bake due to higher moisture content.)
Adapted from Betty Crocker with thanks to Sue!
Note that this particular crustless method will not work for pies that contain heavier ingredients, like fruit. But, be sure to check out my recipe for Crustless Apple Pie.
If you want to make this pie dairy-free, a dairy-free milk like coconut milk should work just fine. In fact, Diane made gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free pumpkin pudding just the other day. I’m betting that sweet treat could easily become a full-fledged pie with the addition of ¼ cup of gluten-free flour!
Not gluten-free? Use 1/4 cup of your all-purpose flour.
Looking for other ways to use pumpkin? Fantastic recipes abound. Check out the following:
Melissa’s Pumpkin Coconut Custard
Brian’s Pumpkin Cheesecake (with a luscious topping)
Amy’s Mini-Pumpkin Spice Cheesecakes or her Gluten-Free Pumpkin Dog Biscuits (yes, even our pets don’t do well with gluten and deserve a safe treat)
Ali’s Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies (gluten-free and vegan)
Ellen’s Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini-Bundt Cakes
Lauren’s Pumpkin Cupcakes
Linda’s Pumpkin Recipes, including Traditional Pumpkin Pie with Crust
Still want more? There’s a whole roundup over at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang’s Friday Foodie Fix and Heather of life, gluten free now has the Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free carnival up. Theme? what else? pumpkin treats! You can also check out Heather’s Pumpkin Spice Cake.
Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!
- Catch up with me on Twitter.
- “Like” gfe—glutenfreeeasily on Facebook to see updates/more content.
- Get gfe posts (including recipes) by email.
- Looking for a gfe recipe?
- Local to Fredericksburg, VA area? Check out Support Group & Events page.
Wordless Wednesday
- Catch up with me on Twitter.
- “Like” gfe—glutenfreeeasily on Facebook to see updates/more content.
- Get gfe posts (including recipes) by email.
- Looking for a gfe recipe?
- Local to Fredericksburg, VA area? Check out Support Group & Events page.
About Me
Gluten free since June 2003, I lead a celiac/gluten intolerance group in Virginia. My passion is educating folks on gluten issues and showing how eating gluten free can be easy if you focus on “real” foods versus processed and specialty foods.
GFE's Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, but rather a volunteer sharing my experiences. Consult your physician for medical guidance. To the best of my knowledge, all ingredients/products that I use are gluten-free (even if I do not indicate that each and every time I mention them; e.g., if I refer to "soy sauce," it's a gluten-free soy sauce). However, I take no responsibility for the accuracy of that information. Always read labels and verify the gluten-free status of any ingredients/products to your own comfort level.
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