Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-Apple Relish

I haven't contributed in a while because I haven't had anything that was devastatingly good. Things have changed. This is the PERFECT fall dinner. We just added some buttermilk biscuits and WHAM! NOTE: I made this with fresh pumpkin, NOT canned pumpkin. Mine was a little runnier than I'd have preferred. That can be fixed by adding more flour at that stage. However, I think if you use canned pumpkin, you'll probably be fine. I also substituted 1 of the cups of cream for greek yogurt so it'd have more protein in it.

Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-Apple Relish

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 fresh bay leaf

• 2 ribs celery with greens, finely chopped (save time and purchase celery already washed, trimmed and cut into sticks, this makes chopping fast work)

• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

• Salt and pepper

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or 2 teaspoons ground thyme

• 2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste

• 6 cups chicken stock

• 1 (28-ounce) can cooked pumpkin puree

• 2 cups heavy cream

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

•

Relish:

• 1 crisp apple, such as McIntosh or Granny Smith, finely chopped

• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries, chopped

• 1 teaspoon chili powder

• 2 teaspoons honey

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Heat a medium soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Add the oil and melt the butter. Add bay, celery, and onion. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook 6 or 7 minutes, until tender. Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce, to taste, then cook flour a minute. Whisk in chicken stock and bring liquid to a bubble. Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate it into the broth. Simmer soup 10 minutes to thicken a bit then add in cream and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

While soup cooks, assemble the relish: combine apple, onion, lemon juice, cranberries, chili powder, honey and cinnamon.

Adjust seasonings in soup and relish and serve soup in shallow bowls with a few spoonfuls of relish.

This recipe is from Rachel Ray, found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/pumpkin-soup-with-chili-cran-apple-relish-recipe/index.html