Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love that it's about being grateful, and boy, do I have things to be grateful for this year. I cherish the lovely aspects of Thanksgiving that are about being with family, enjoying the beauty of autumn, and feasting on delicious food. Turkey, sweet potatoes, corn bread, cranberry sauce, green beans, and pumpkin pie. YUM.
As Colombians who have been living in the US for a while, my family adopted this holiday into its annual repertoire. It's become an almost sacred family tradition. We respect the usual suspects like turkey and stuffing, but we've also added our own twist to them. Coconut rice is a must, and the turkey stuffing is quite different from the breadcrumb-heavy variety found on most US Thanksgiving tables.
I'd like to share one of my recipes that was part of our Thanksgiving meal this year. It's a great idea for an autumn appetizer or amuse bouche. It was also the verrine appetizer that I presented for my cuisine final exam, and the chefs liked. And guess what? It's super easy. The important thing to keep in mind are the flavors, and to know how to balance them so that the end result is a layer of subtle flavors that enhance one another.
Also, have fun with the presentation of a soup like this. Use a shot glass, a small square vase, or whatever you find in your cupboard that could be a nice container for it. I used limoncello glasses on Thanksgiving, and they looked lovely.
Cream of pumpkin soup with caramelized apples and walnuts
As Colombians who have been living in the US for a while, my family adopted this holiday into its annual repertoire. It's become an almost sacred family tradition. We respect the usual suspects like turkey and stuffing, but we've also added our own twist to them. Coconut rice is a must, and the turkey stuffing is quite different from the breadcrumb-heavy variety found on most US Thanksgiving tables.
I'd like to share one of my recipes that was part of our Thanksgiving meal this year. It's a great idea for an autumn appetizer or amuse bouche. It was also the verrine appetizer that I presented for my cuisine final exam, and the chefs liked. And guess what? It's super easy. The important thing to keep in mind are the flavors, and to know how to balance them so that the end result is a layer of subtle flavors that enhance one another.
Also, have fun with the presentation of a soup like this. Use a shot glass, a small square vase, or whatever you find in your cupboard that could be a nice container for it. I used limoncello glasses on Thanksgiving, and they looked lovely.
Cream of pumpkin soup with caramelized apples and walnuts
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| our thanksgiving amuse bouche - glorified cream of pumpkin |
Soup
Roast 300g red kuri (pumpkin) in the oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes. Once roasted, remove puree from skin and discard seeds.
Sweat 50g carrot, 100g parsnip (optional), 1/2 onion, and 50g leek mirepoix in butter and add 1 lemon grass stick, freshly grated ginger, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 cinnamon stick, pumpkin puree. Season with salt, fresh ground pepper, and add chicken stock to help sweat the vegetables. Blend and strain.
Apple walnut brunoise
Cut 1 Rubinette or Golden Delicious apple into brunoise and chop 100g fresh walnuts and caramelize in a sauce pan with butter, 1 tbsp maple syrup, and 1 tbsp honey.
Candy thin slices of Rubinette apples in 50ml water and 50g sugar and dry in the oven at 90 degrees for 2 hours.
Decoration
Place a layer of caramelized apples and walnuts on the bottom of a verrine or serving glass, then fill 3/4 of the verrine with soup.
Whip 100ml cream and top verrines with a dollop of cream and a small basil leaf.
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