SweetPumpkinSoup

Sweet Pumpkin Soup

Her father had been fighting with the council again. Arya could see it on his face when he came to table, late again, as he had been so often. The first course, a thick sweet soup made with pumpkins, had already been taken away when Ned Stark strode into the Small Hall.

—A GAME OF THRONES

Serves 4 to 6 + Roasting vegetables: 1½ hours

Cooking: 10 minutes

Pairs well with Black Bread (page 85),

Sweetcorn Fritters (page 123), Modern Honey Biscuits (page 115)

Although served in the capital of King's Landing, this is every bit a Northern autumnal soup. Sweetened by yams, the bisque pairs butternut squash and pumpkin to perfection. Roasting the vegetables caramelizes them slightly, really bringing out the best of their innate flavors. Add a few dashes of spice, and you have a soup that Arya would rather eat than fling at her sister.

1 sugar pumpkin (around

4 pounds)

1 large yam

½ medium butternut squash (cut lengthwise), seeds removed

½ cup apple cider

2 cups chicken broth

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Using a sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half horizontally. Clean out the inside, removing all the stringy innards and seeds. (You can roast the seeds, making them into a lovely snack for later.)

Wrap the yam in foil and place it on a baking sheet along with the butternut

squash half and the two pumpkin halves. Roast all the vegetables until they are soft,

about 1½ hours.

Mash the yam, the squash, and the flesh from the pumpkin together in a large saucepan. Add the cider, broth, and spices, and blend either in an upright blender, or using an immersion blender. Return the soup to the pan and heat until it is hot through.