Restaurants Serve Pumpkin Soup Topped With Jumbo Lump Crab
A new menu item combines a smooth vegetable base with a delicate seafood topping and specific garnishes.
By Pedro Barnes ·
Diners can now order a pumpkin and sweet potato soup featuring jumbo lump crab.
The recipe for the base begins in a large pot over medium heat. Cooks add two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of olive oil. The mixture receives one chopped medium onion, half a cup of peeled and chopped carrot, one cup of chopped celery, one teaspoon of minced garlic, and one tablespoon of fresh ginger. Five cups of peeled and diced Castilla pumpkin and one and three-quarter cups of peeled and diced sweet potato join the vegetables. The ingredients sweat until they soften without browning. Four cups of chicken stock and a pinch of ground nutmeg are added. The pot reaches a boil and simmers for approximately 25 minutes. The vegetables must become completely tender. The soup blends in a Vitamix until smooth. The mixture passes through a fine-mesh strainer. Cooks taste the soup to confirm seasoning and consistency. The final liquid transfers to a food-safe container for labeling and refrigeration.
The crab component prepares in a separate sauté pan. One tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil heats over medium heat. One dried piquín chile infuses in the oil for 30 seconds. One teaspoon of roasted garlic purée stirs into the mixture. Half a cup of jumbo lump crab enters the pan. The crab warms through gently to preserve its texture.
The plated dish consists of six ounces of the prepared soup. Three dots of avocado crema sit on top. Two corn shoots and a quarter teaspoon of finely diced pickled red onion garnish the plate. The pickled onion uses a brunoise cut.
