There are two things that define fall for me: pumpkin and soup.
Okay, and also horror movies, apple cider, sweaters, spooky things, booties, warm tones and a whole lot of other stuff. BUT, pumpkin and soup are probably my top two fall things. When it got cold, my mom always added baked potato soup and chili to the dinner rotation, and it was my favorite time of the year.
Even when I lived by myself, I would make huge servings of every type of soup and freeze it for later. My freezer was a soup graveyard.
Therefore, when I was browsing the food aisle in our local World Market and saw pumpkin gnocchi, I knew I needed it. I also knew I needed to turn it into a soup.
I got the idea because I love Olive Garden’s chicken and gnocchi soup. In fact, it’s pretty much the only thing I order when I go there. However, I wasn’t quite sure how to make pumpkin gnocchi into something savory. But then I remembered someone made me pumpkin-spice bacon one time, and it was so good! It sounds like a weird combo, but it is perfect – trust me.
When I started to develop this recipe, I knew I was going to use canned pumpkin, but I couldn’t decide what I wanted to use to thin out the soup. Chicken broth is always a no brainer, but I knew I wanted to use a lot of onion and bacon. I wanted to really bring out the tangy flavor of the onion, so I decided to use a little white wine.
This made all the difference! I recommend using a dry wine – I like to use a little Pinot Grigio (or whatever you have on hand).
INGREDIENTS
1 package of pumpkin gnocchi (or regular gnocchi)
3/4 pound of bacon, finely diced
1/2 cup of white onion, finely diced
1/2 tablespoon of flour
1 can of pumpkin puree
32 oz of chicken broth
1/2 cup of heavy cream (will add more to taste)
1 1/2 tablespoon of sage
1 teaspoon red pepper
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1/2 cup of white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream (optional)
Parmesan cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
Dice raw bacon and fry in a saucepan. Remove bacon when cooked, leaving bacon grease in the pan.
Add white wine to bacon grease. Let simmer for 2 minutes.
Add onion to the pan. Cook until the onion turns translucent.
Add flour, salt and pepper to the onions. Mix in pumpkin and chicken broth. Stir until combined.
Once combined, let simmer for about 10 minutes. Then, gradually add heavy cream until it fits your taste buds (I like about a cup and a fourth).
Add vinegar, sage and red pepper. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish with sour cream and parmesan cheese.
