Ingredients

• 30 ounces of pumpkin puree
• 1 large, yellow onion
• 1 or 2 large carrots, peeled
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed (or 4 heaping Tablespoons minced garlic)
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes (or about 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon)
• 2 Yukon Gold potatoes, or similar amount of your favorite variety
• 2 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 bunch of green onion
• 3/4 – 1 pound of thick-sliced bacon
• 8 oz shaved parmesan
• Seasonings to taste: salt, freshly cracked black pepper, nutmeg, etc.
• Optional serving suggestion: small pumpkins

Instructions

1. If you will be serving inside pumpkin bowls, then carefully slice the tops off of small pumpkins, and scoop out the guts. (The stringy guts will not be useful here, but you may opt to save the seeds for roasting.) The pumpkin bowls should be baked or roasted until the insides have softened, but not to the point of structural failure.
2. Peel and slice the carrots and onion in half. Grill or pan-roast until some char develops, then dice the carrots and onion.
3. Using your preferred method, cook and then roughly crumble the bacon for garnishing later. Slice up the green portion of the green onion, also for garnishing later.
4. In a small saucepan, sweat the garlic in a little oil or butter for roughly 1 minute.
5. Add in the wine and onion to sauté.
6. Add carrots; chop the potatoes into rough 1-inch cubes and add to the onions and garlic to soften up.
7. Into a blender pour the vegetable stock, sauteed garlic, onions, carrots, and potatoes, and add the chicken bouillon, and blend until smooth.
8. Into a Dutch oven or similarly large pot, add the blended mixture together with the pumpkin puree and apple cider vinegar, and carefully bring to a simmer. Let simmer for at least 15 minutes.
9. Carefully stir in the heavy cream to get your desired consistency. Add in additional seasonings to taste, especially salt and black pepper. Do not boil after adding cream!
10. Ladle the soup into the bowls, and top with a heap of parmesan, bacon crumbles, and green onion. This chef recommends pairing with your favorite Oktoberfest ale.