Pumpkin-ginger bisque with fennel

Hey, Supper Punch fans! The unstoppable culinary force that is Jennifer Carnam is here to share a recipe featured in the ninth and final Supper Punch battle. It’s pumpkiny, full of wonderful fall flavors, and involves beer. How can you lose?

October 26, 2010; 12:00 PM • by Jennifer Carnam

Hey, Supper Punch fans! The unstoppable culinary force that is Jennifer Carnam is here to share a recipe featured in the ninth and final Supper Punch battle. It’s pumpkiny, full of wonderful fall flavors, and involves beer. How can you lose?

Ingredients

• 2 small pie pumpkins (don’t use carving pumpkins)
• 10 French fingerling potatoes, peeled
• 1 bottle ginger ale
• 1 bottle Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale
• 1 large fennel bulb, sliced
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 whole star anise
• 8 cardamom pods (or a bit more than 1 tsp ground cardamom)
• Organic vegetable broth

Scoop out pulp and seeds, slice pumpkin flesh and roast along with peeled potatoes in 325 degree oven for about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice fennel bulb and dice shallot. Saute in olive oil until soft but not brown. Add ginger ale and Harvest Moon, and simmer until reduced by about 50%.

Slice pumpkin and potatoes into 1-inch chunks and combine with fennel mixture in slow cooker.

Add 4 cups of vegetable broth, cardamom and star anise, and simmer on high for about 3 hours.

Blend bisque until creamy, but with a few chunks remaining. Garnish with fennel fronds and serve along with more Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale in a frosty mug.

Tune in tomorrow to find out how Jennifer’s bisque fared against her competitors when we announce the results of week 9 of Supper Punch and officially crown the first, second, third, and fourth place winners.

October 26, 2010 12:00 PM 3