Arcane Treatise 280

Pumpkin Curry Bisque

one 3 pound whole pumpkin
2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
cooking oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pink shallot, minced
1 stalk lemongrass, smashed and minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cups vegetable, pumpkin or chicken stock
2 cups sherry
salt and pepper to taste
sesame seeds
fresh celery leaves

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prick pumpkin all over with a fork repeatedly.  Place pumpkin on a foil-lined baking pan, then generously brush with oil.  Bake for 45 minutes, or until tender/  Remove from oven, and let cool until it can be handled safely.

2) Once pumpkin can be safely handled, use a sharp paring knife to cut twelve to sixteen long strips of rind, and reserve.  Now cut the pumpkin open: scoop out the guts and place guts into a small saucepan with wine.  Chop the pumpkin into one-half inch cubes.

3) In a second, medium, oven-proof saucepan over medium heat, heat one and one-half cups of cooking oil until hot, and then fry the reserved rinds in batches of four for two to three minutes, or until the rinds turn crispy.  Remove strips from the oil, and drain and dry on paper towels.  Reserve.

4) Heat the pumpkin guts in the first saucepan over high heat until wine is reduced by three-fourths.  Remove saucepan from heat, and strain liquid into a large soup pot.  Discard or roast leftover seeds.

5) In soup pot, combine wine reduction with coconut milk, onions, shallots, garlic, and lemongrass, and let cook over medium heat for five minutes.  Pour in stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, fold in pumpkin and spices, and let simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  After thirty minutes, use a hand mixer, or an immersion blender and puree any remaining chunks.

6) Ladle soup into six to eight bowls.  Top each bowl with two fried rind strips, and garnish with sesame seeds and celery leaves.