Ingredients
The following ingredients have 4 Servings
- One 2-pound cheese pumpkin or any orange-flesh pumpkin
- Non-aerosol cooking spray
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
- 6 cups stock or bone broth
- 1 inch ginger
- sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cloves garlic
- crushed
- 1 small onion
- halved
- ¾ cup crème fraiche
- sour cream or heavy cream
- optional
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 1 clove crushed garlic
- 3 tablespoons butter
- Sliced peasant or sesame Italian bread
- 1 cup prepared olive salad (Rach like's Central Grocery)
- or 1 cup giardiniera
- drained
- and 1 cup green olives
- pitted
- 2 red field or bell peppers
- ¾ pound deli-sliced provolone
- 1 pound total combined: prosciutto cotto
- mortadella with pistachios
- salami
- capicola
Instruction
- For the Pumpkin Soup, preheat oven to 425˚F
- Halve pumpkin with a serrated knife and scoop out fibrous material, rinse and toast seeds if you like texture and taste of them
- Spray the pumpkin and season liberally: salt, pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and paprika
- Roast cut-side down 35 to 40 minutes to tender, let stand to cool, scoop all flesh into food processor and puree
- Heat stock and 2 cups water to boil with ginger, bay, garlic, and onion, reduce by ⅓ at low bubble, then remove from heat, strain, return to pot and whisk in puree and, if using, the cream
- For the Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, in small pot or skillet, heat oil, garlic and butter at low bubble to infuse flavor
- Paint 1 side of 8 slices of bread
- Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat
- If making olive salad, combine giardiniera and olives in processor and pulse to combine and finely chop
- Char peppers under broiler or over open flame, cover and cool, peel, seed and stem, then slice
- Make sandwich: butter-side out bread brushed with garlic butter mixture, olive salad, cheese, peppers, meats, cheese, more olive salad, bread
- Griddle the grilled cheeses to toasty and golden
- Serve sandwiches with soup