Pumpkin soup with asiago cheese croutons

Yield: 4 servings

Measure Ingredient
2 tablespoons Butter
1 cup Finely chopped onion
2 \N Garlic cloves; minced
1 tablespoon Flour
1 pinch Ground nutmeg
1 pinch Allspice
2½ cup Seeded; peeled, diced fresh pumpkin
2½ cup Chicken broth
⅔ cup Orange juice
2 tablespoons Honey
\N \N Salt and pepper; to taste
12 \N Baguette bread slices
½ cup Grated Asiago cheese
\N \N (or other cheese such as Parmesan
\N \N Or Romano)

Melt butter and saute onions and garlic for about three to four minutes.

Stir in flour, spices and pumpkin. Cover and cook for six minutes. Add chicken broth, orange juice, and honey. Cover, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes, until the pumpkin has softened. Cube bread slices, top with grated Asiago cheese and broil for a few minutes. Be careful to not burn the cheese. Remove croutons from oven. Process half of the soup mixture in food processor and return to soup pot while stirring to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowl, top with croutons, and serve with salad. Serves 4.

Comments: When buying pre-cut pumpkins, make sure that the pulp is firm, not fibrous. Pumpkins contain a great deal of water and cook down to about half the precooked bulk. Asiago is a sweet-tasting, semi-cooked, semi-fat cheese made from cow's milk. Covered with a rind, the interior of the cheese is white in color (more golden if aged), and contains holes or small cracks.

Recipe Source: Home & Garden TV -- Home Grown Cooking - Episode 148 Formatted for MasterCook by Nancy Berry - cwbj78a@...

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