Each of us has a favorite dish on the Thanksgiving table. For some it’s the turkey, while others can’t wait to taste the pecan pie. Time-honored traditions give meaning to this holiday focused on bringing family and friends together to give thanks. Serving family favorites alongside new recipes keeps things interesting for the cook as well as the eaters. This year, why not get the meal off to an elegant start with an appetizer of pureed pumpkin soup? Or maybe try the recipe for quick-cooking challah dressing with shiitake mushrooms and hazelnuts? Both of these recipes embrace seasonal ingredients and are guaranteed to bring warmth to your Thanksgiving table.
Pumpkin soup
Serves 4 in a standard soup bowl, or 8 to 10 in a small cup as an amuse-bouche to begin the meal.
Ingredients
½ cup hazelnuts
2 sugar pumpkins, weighing about 2 pounds each
3 tablespoon olive oil
6 sage leaves
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
2 to 3 cups homemade chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water
1 tablespoon honey
hazelnut oil
Toast the hazelnuts. Heat the oven to 375 F. Spread the hazelnuts on a small baking sheet and toast until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Pour the nuts onto a plate to cool, and then rub off most of the skins with a paper towel. Coarsely chop the hazelnuts and store them in an airtight container until ready to use.
Roast the pumpkins. Heat the oven to 400 F. Split the pumpkins in half vertically, from stem end to the base, and scoop out the seeds and pith. Slather the cut sides with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Place the pumpkin halves on a baking sheet lined with foil, cut side down. Slip a sage leaf and garlic clove underneath each pumpkin. Roast in the oven until tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. The flesh should pierce easily with a blunt knife. Allow the pumpkin halves to cool for a few minutes, then scoop out the flesh with a spoon, discarding the skin and the sage leaves.
Warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot set to medium heat. Add the apple and onion. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, then cook until the onions are softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally and lower the heat if necessary. Do not allow the mixture to brown. Add the pumpkin flesh and 2 cloves of the roasted garlic, squeezed from the skin (discard the third clove of garlic). Pour over enough stock or water to just cover, about 2 cups. Break up the pumpkin into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon. Bring the soup to a boil, then simmer, partially covered, until all the ingredients are tender enough to mash with a wooden spoon, about 15 minutes.
Puree the soup. A blender will yield the smoothest, silkiest consistency, however, a food processor or immersion blender may also be used with good results. If using a blender, puree the soup in batches, only filling the container halfway with soup and covering the top with a towel while blending to prevent scalding from splashing soup. After blending, thin the soup with extra stock or water as needed, blending again until the desired texture is achieved. Pour the soup into a clean pot and heat until warmed through. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the honey.
Serve the pumpkin soup warm, garnished with a sprinkling of chopped hazelnuts and a drizzle of hazelnut oil.
Pumpkin soup can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for about two days or frozen for a couple of months. Extra water or chicken stock may be needed to thin the soup during reheating.
An unstuffed turkey roasts faster than a stuffed one, and this quick-cooking dressing baked in a shallow 9-by-13-inch dish is perfect to slide in the oven just as the turkey comes out. While the bird rests the dressing turns golden and crisp after less than 30 minutes under the heat. Enriched with eggs and sugar, challah bread makes for a tender, delicious dressing base. Sautéed shiitake mushrooms and toasted hazelnuts are the spirit of autumn and combine beautifully with a generous amount of sage and rosemary. Dotted throughout the dressing, sweet-dried apricots are a nice surprise to the palate. With its balance of earthy, herbal, sweet and nutty flavors, this dressing is unique and yet steeped in tradition.
Challah Dressing with Shiitake Mushrooms and Hazelnuts
Ingredients
½ cup hazelnuts
3 tablespoons olive oil or schmaltz
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 leeks, white and pale-green parts only, cut in half lengthwise then cut in 1/4-inch slices
3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
10 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems and caps sliced
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 cups homemade chicken stock
1 egg
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
14 ounces of challah bread (enough to fill a 9-by-13-inch baking dish), cut into 1-inch cubes and left unwrapped on the counter overnight to go stale
Toast the hazelnuts. Heat the oven to 375°F. Spread the hazelnuts on a small baking sheet and toast until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Pour the nuts onto a plate to cool, and then rub off most of the skins with a paper towel. Coarsely chop the hazelnuts and store them in an airtight container until ready to use.
Make the dressing. Heat the oven to 375°F. Place the challah bread cubes into a greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil or schmaltz into a large straight-sided skillet and turn the heat on medium. Add onion, garlic, leeks and celery. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally and monitoring the heat so the vegetables do not brown, until the onions are translucent and tender, about 6 minutes. Place the mixture in a bowl and set aside.
Add 1 tablespoon olive oil or schmaltz to the skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Toss in the sliced shiitake mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for a few minutes till tender. (Both the mushrooms and the mixture of onion, garlic, leeks and celery may be refrigerated overnight.)
Pour the mushrooms over the challah cubes, along with the mixture of sautéed onion, garlic, leeks and celery. Add the chopped hazelnuts, apricots, sage and rosemary. Toss the ingredients together to combine evenly, and season with salt and pepper. Whisk together the egg and 1 1/2 cups chicken stock. Pour over the challah dressing evenly to moisten the bread throughout. The goal is to use just enough liquid to moisten the stuffing without making it too soggy. Use the last ½ cup of chicken stock if needed. Allow the stuffing to stand 10 minutes, absorbing the liquid.
Bake the challah stuffing for 20 to 30 minutes, until heated through and golden crisp on top.
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Pureed pumpkin soup is a simple yet elegant appetizer to start off Thanksgiving dinner. This low-maintenance dish can be made ahead of time, then heated up in the crockpot on Thanksgiving Day, freeing up valuable space on the stovetop. For this recipe, the flavor of pumpkin shines, supported by a hint of savory sage and garlic, balanced with sweet apple and a touch of honey. Choose a flavorful apple with a hint of tartness, such as the Jonagold or Gala variety. Roasting the pumpkin caramelizes the flesh and intensifies its flavor. Homemade chicken stock enriches the soup, but water or vegetable stock may be used instead to keep the dish vegetarian. A garnish of toasted hazelnuts adds a nice crunchy texture to the silky soup, and hazelnut oil boosts the nut flavor, combining beautifully with sweet pumpkin.
