Housed inside the extravagant Hotel Contessa on the San Antonio River Walk, Las Ramblas is an homage to the city’s Spanish roots. This dish is representative of such…a toasty, smoky soup that goes down smooth and warms the soul!
- In a large mixing bowl combine pumpkin, parsnip, apples, and most
of the shallots ( reserving about 10 rings for garnish). Toss a little olive oil in and season with salt and roast at 425
until lightly golden brown. - Transfer to a soup pot and add hard cider, boil off alcohol. Add apple cider and simmer until cider reduces significantly. Add stock, sugar, honey and spice and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes.
- Transfer soup into a high speed blender and blend to desired level
of smoothness. Return to the stove and add heavy cream, and adjust seasoning with
salt and lemon juice, and whisk in the stick of butter a little at a time. Toss pumpkin seeds with a little olive oil and salt and toast in
the same 425 oven for about 5 – 7 minutes. - Bread remaining shallot rings and fry until crispy (optional). Sprinkle soup with toasted
pumpkin seeds, and garnish with a few crispy shallot rings.
Ingredients
Mise en Place:
- 1.5 # XX peeled and chopped parsnips
- 1.5 # XX Cinderella pumpkin flesh cubed
- 1 # XX shallots – sliced in rings
- 3 XX granny smith apples – peeled and chopped
- 2 qts XX light chicken stock, or vegetable stock
- 2.5 cups XX apple cider
- 1 XX bottle hard cider
- 2 cups XX heavy cream
- Olive oil – as needed
- 1 stick XX butter
- 2 T XX brown sugar
- 1 T XX honey
- ½ t XX pumpkin pie spice
- 4 XX bay leaves
- Pumpkin seeds, toasted
- Flour for breading
- 1 XX egg for breading
- ¼ cup XX milk
- 1 XX Lemon – juiced
- Salt and pepper – to taste