Roasted Pumpkin Bisque w/ Mushroom-Gruyere Crostini

Recipe inspiration:

Creating recipes for the seasons is kind of my thing. Fall is my favorite, so when I spotted those darling sugar pie pumpkins in my local market a week or so ago, I begin experimenting. Homemade pumpkin puree is simple to make. I combined it with savory flavors to create this creamy bisque for dinner. Utilizing some fabulously rich mushroom broth, it complements the 2-mushroom- Gruyere crostini that is served with this soup… dunking is encouraged!

Recipe ingredients:

Roasted Pumpkin:
1 small sugar pie pumpkin (about 1/2 lb), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Soup:
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 cups Pacific Natural Foods Mushroom Broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup apple cider (or juice)
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne pepper (or more, to taste)
1/2 tsp. sea salt (or more, to taste)
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (or more, to taste)
1/3 cup whipping cream

Crostini:
4 thin slices French bread (8 if you're using baguette)
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
5 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms
5 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese

Cooking instructions:

Prepare the Roasted Pumpkin:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray baking sheet lightly with nonstick spray.
2. In a medium bowl, toss pumpkin with butter, thyme, sea salt and pepper. Spread on baking sheet; bake for 20 minutes, or just until tender.

*Reduce oven to 400, so it's ready for preparing the crostini.

Prepare Soup:
1. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil to medium-heat. Add onion; saute until onion is tender and beginning to brown lightly at the edges (about 5 minutes). Add in thyme, broth, wine, cider, cardamom, ginger, cayenne, salt and pepper. Scoop roasted squash into the broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Pour soup mixture into a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Return to the pan. Add cream, stir and keep on low heat.

Prepare Crostini:
1. Place bread slices on baking sheet. Place in the oven for 3-4 minutes, just until lightly toasted. Remove from oven.
2. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil at medium heat. Add garlic and mushrooms. Saute until garlic is fragrant and mushrooms are no longer dry.
3. Divide mushrooms between toasts, piling them on top. Sprinkle with Gruyere cheese. Place toasts back in the oven until cheese is melted, about 3-4 minutes.

Serve Mushroom-Gruyere Crostini with the Pumpkin Bisque. Dunking is encouraged!

Serves: 4