Saturday, October 5, 2013

Roasted Pumpkin Soup and Dijon Chicken (dairy and gluten free)





We went to the pumpkin patch today, one of my favorite things of the whole year. All I could think about was this recipe for Pumpkin soup my new friend Lissa just told me about. See that grey pumpkin up above? I can't remember the name of it but it had the word 'sweet' in it; that was all I needed to grab it up! But let's start with the chicken, I didn't photograph. It was devoured long before I could take a pic, and I forgot to take a picture of the pumpkin pre-roast or post-roast. Start by marinating 2-4 organic boneless skinless chicken breasts about 4-5 hours before you want to make them. There are no exact measurements for this marinade just throw it in. 

Annie's Gluten Free Dijon Mustard (I used about 3 Tbsp.) 
Champagne Vinegar (I used about 2 Tbsp.) 
Kosher salt
Black Pepper
Dried Oregano (I used about 3 Tbsp.) 

Rub it all into the chicken inside a BPA free plastic bag and stick in the fridge when the soup is almost done heat a grill pan to medium high and grill the chicken about 3 minutes on each side to seal the juices. Place chicken (in pan) in the oven on 325 degrees for about 12-15 more minutes. Remove and immediately cover completely in the pan with foil and let sit 15 minutes (this is really important for juicy chicken breast)! Slice diagonally and dip in the soup, I am NOT joking, it's incredible and they compliment each other perfectly! 

For the Soup: 

Sweet Roasting Pumpkin Larger size or 2 small 
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Head of Garlic
Several sprigs of Rosemary
1/2 sweet onion
Chicken Broth
Coconut Butter
Nutmeg
Unsweetened Coconut Milk or Coconut Cream (for thicker soup) 

Start by preheating the oven to 185 degrees
Slice the pumpkin in half horizontally and scoop out seed (save and roast them!) 
score the pumpkin (make sure they are deep scores) 
drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. 
Lay several sprigs of rosemary in each half on a baking sheet and slice an entire head of garlic in half horizontally and rub the exposed pumpkin with the garlic then place open side up in each half. Roast for about 90 minutes or until soft may be less if smaller pumpkin so check after an hour. 
In a sautee pan on medium heat sautee diced 1/2 sweet onion in olive oil and about 1 tsp. of nutmeg until translucent. When the Pumpkin is done throw the rosemary away and peel the roasted garlic out and add the WHOLE cloves of roasted garlic and cook a couple more minutes. 
Scoop the pumpkin out and put in a food processor or high powered blender (I used my vitamix). Add the sautéed garlic and onion and about 1 cup of chicken broth. Blend and return to warm pan and add about two more cups of broth. and bring to a boil. Add about 2 Tbsp. of coconut butter and about 1/2 cup of coconut milk/cream, and wisk. frequently until the soup thickens to desired consistency. It won't be a super thick soup but it's not runny either. Enjoy the taste of fall!! If you try this, please report back!