I had a hankering for this combination earlier today, with freezing cold nights (and mornings) finally starting up again, I just wanted all things fall: pumpkin, soup, bread with butter to dip into said soup.
I was imagining a really brothy soup with small meatballs and some nutmeggy pumpkin tortellini.
I googled.
I didn't see anything resembling what I wanted, so I cobbled something together that I feared wasn't going to taste very good, but ended up tasting really really good. My husband even drank his broth. He never drinks his broth.
Tortellini
1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
4 oz honey goat cheese (Trader Joe's - if you can't find, just use regular goat cheese and add more honey)
1 T. honey (maple syrup would also be extra delicious here)
1 T. brown sugar
allspice (pinch)
nutmeg (pinch or so)
white pepper (pinch)
salt (hearty pinch)
1 leaf sage, minced fine
20 wonton wrappers
Mix all the ingredients, except wonton wrappers, then assemble into tortellini (directions are on the package - it's quite simple). Put in fridge on a small plate while you assemble meatballs.
Note: this will use up 1/2 of the pumpkin mixture. If you're ambitious, you can make more and freeze them for next time, but I have 2 young children, so I put my leftovers into the fridge to be dealt with later.
Meatballs (based on Cook's Illustrated's recipe for Swedish Meatballs)
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
2 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/2 - 1" pieces
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1/2 white onion, grated on small holes of box grater
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp baking powder
Put bread into medium bowl and cover with cream, mashing with a fork to make sure the cream is absorbed. It may be a little soupy. Add egg, white onion, spices and baking powder, and mix with fork to combine. Add the meat -- squeezing the pork with your hands to "mash" it a little before going into the bowl (Cook's Illustrated has you mix it with the mixer to make the pork like a 'paste', and - although I have made them that way before and they are delicious - I wasn't gonna dirty another coupla dishes tonight, and squeezing turned out just fine). Use a very small scoop (2 tsp.) to scoop into about 25 little meatballs, setting aside on a plate.
Note: I made the meat mixture while the aromatics were sauteeing in the pan (next step, below), and then left it alone to add the Bourbon/Broth/etc, and then scooped the meatballs while waiting for the broth to come to a boil.
Soup and assembly
1/4 white onion, chopped
2 shallots, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 sage leaves, cut into chiffonade
1/4 c. EVOO
4 T. butter
Bourbon (about 1/3 cup and I used Makers Mark)
12 cups chicken stock (2 of the 48 oz Swansons boxes)
salt/pepper
2 - 3 cups chopped kale (I bought a bag at Trader Joe's to make my life easy, and used several good handfuls)
In a 6 quart pot, saute onion/shallots/garlic/sage in evoo and butter over med-low heat until soft and getting caramelly ... deglaze with the bourbon, let reduce about 2 minutes so the alcohol evaporates a little. Add the broth/salt/pepper, bring to a simmer, add the kale. Let the kale simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, then carefully add meatballs (they will be soft, but I assure you they will hold their shape), always keeping the broth at a bare simmer. After 8 minutes, add the tortellini and continue simmering for another 2 minutes. Serve immediately with hot sauce and parmesan :D
A FEW NOTES:
A few of the tortellini may fall apart in the soup, but it still tastes good. You can always just use egg noodles and diced pumpkin (sugar pumpkin is good) or butternut squash if you don't want to be fussy about the tortellini. Also? I think a can of rinsed small white beans would be a delicious addition to this soup, as would some toasted sourdough croutons.
Please enjoy, and let me know what you think.
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