From Chef Thomas Keller

Recipe Serves: 4-6

A note from Chef Keller:

TAK Room's Spiced Pumpkin Soup has all the qualities of classic comfort food: a steaming bowl of warming ingredients that conjure up a childhood memory. Served on its own or paired with a sandwich, it's guaranteed to nourish during these colder months.

The spices in this soup are actually a combination of blended fall spices – cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, and Szechuan peppercorns – that add a depth of flavor to the soup and one that is familiar to the palate. Enjoy with a dollop of crème fraîche and some toasted nuts or seeds.

Note: As a friendly reminder to our at-home cooks, this recipe calls for the use of a cheesecloth.

Ingredients:

• 11 tablespoons butter, divided
• 5 ounces leek, white part only, thinly sliced
• 3 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced  
• 1 3/4 pounds sugar pie pumpkin or black futsu squash, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
• 3 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice, optional
• 1 tablespoon wildflower honey
• Kosher salt

Instructions:

1. Add half of the butter to a wide, heavy pan over medium-low heat. As it melts, swirl pan continuously over the heat until the butter turns light brown and smells nutty. Watch closely because the butter can quickly go from brown to burnt. As soon as it is ready, remove from the heat and pour through a fine-meshed sieve layered with cheesecloth into a small bowl. Set aside while you prepare the soup.  
2. Melt the remaining butter in a medium-sized wide, heavy pan over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and shallots. Season with salt and pepper. Sweat until tender, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
3. Once the leeks and shallots are tender, add the pumpkin and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the water and turn the heat to medium-high. Reduce the water and pumpkin mixture until all the water is evaporated. The pumpkin should be glazed and tender at this point.
5. Add the milk and cream to the pumpkin and lower the heat to medium.
6. Once the liquids are simmering, remove pan from heat and puree soup using an immersion or countertop blender.
7. Pass the soup through a fine-meshed sieve and return to the pan. Season to taste with five spice, if using, and honey, brown butter and salt.