Pumpkin Sage Soup

Name: Pumpkin Sage Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 2 small onions (peeled and diced); 2 medium carrots (peeled and sliced); 2 ribs of celery (halved and sliced); 2 cloves of garlic (peeled); 1 Granny Smith apple (peeled and diced); 2 medium to large sized Idaho russet potatoes (peeled and diced); 1 tablespoon fresh sage (minced); 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; salt and pepper; 2 15- ounce cans 100% pure canned pumpkin; 1 32- ounce carton vegetable stock; 1 cup heavy cream; cooked crispy bacon (crumbled); gouda cheese (freshly grated); cooked crispy sage leaves for garnish

November 17, 2014 by hipfoodiemom 34 Comments

Pumpkin Sage Soup!!! Creamy, flavorful and savory. This Pumpkin Sage Soup is perfect for fall and is delicious comfort in a bowl.

A little over a week ago, I was in Chicago attending a Test Kitchen event hosted by ALDI. We were there for two days and let me tell you, there was enough food involved over those two days to feed a small army.

Day 1 started with a visit to ALDI headquarters, where we visited their test kitchen and participated in a blind tasting of several food products. Each station featured an ALDI brand versus a leading national brand. We sampled everything from orange juice to yogurt to granola bars and tortilla chips. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and, based on taste, I chose the ALDI brand 9 out of 10 times. Tastes better and costs less? No brainer. I know where I’m buying my orange juice, crackers, granola bars and tortilla chips from now on.

ALDI also has a gluten free product line, which we also got to sample. So, if you’re gluten-free, no worries! ALDI has you covered!

We then moved on to our Sensory Pairings session, where Sensory Expert Gail Vance Civille and Certified Master Sommelier Leslee Miller hosted a joint food and wine pairings presentation and demonstration. They taught us why particular foods and wines pair well, and why others do not, based on our senses. I’ve never looked at wine so thoroughly before. . the color, smelling it and tasting it and thinking about what it reminds us of. And that “rule” where red wine goes with meat and white wine with chicken and fish, for example, doesn’t really apply anymore. Red or white, it’s really all about how the wines enhance the foods and vice versa.

My favorite part of this session was then sampling different wines with different foods, like cheese (of course!) and chocolate and cheesecake!! Hello!!

We then moved on to a little competition, where we were placed into teams and had to put what we had just learned to the test! We were tasked with pairing a wine with each course for a full holiday meal. My team enthusiastically finished first. . and promptly got last place. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. Team 1: you are all still #1 to me. (From left to right: Jessica from Savory Experiments, Kellie from The Suburban Soapbox, Kit from The Kittchen, Julie from Willow Bird Baking and me!)

We ended the evening with a gorgeous and delicious dinner prepared by the ALDI kitchen chefs. We started with an amazing Pumpkin Sage Soup, which I am sharing with you today! You guys. . this soup is so delicious! I love baking with pumpkin in the fall but let me tell you. . savory pumpkin dishes are the BEST. And I added some bacon because I love the saltiness with this soup and the texture. #winning

The key to this soup is combining vegetables and APPLES, mixing them with brown sugar, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and then roasting them until tender. Oh my gawd, you guys. . not only did this smell amazing, but I wanted to skip the soup and just eat the roasted veggies and apples. So good!

But fortunately, I went on and made my soup. . and I’m so happy I did. This soup is now officially up there with my top 5 fave soups for the fall. I’ll be sharing the rest of my ALDI visit in another post. . so until then, you guys have to try this soup!

I hope you enjoy!

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