Ribollita: Tuscan Peasant Soup

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion diced
• 2 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and diced
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 cups vegetable stock
• ⅔ cups  no sugar applesauce
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground sage
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 pumpkins 3 lbs. each, to make 2 cups pumpkin puree
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup heavy cream

Instructions
Make the pumpkin puree

• Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees

• Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Slice each half into quarters and place them on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
• Roast for 20 minutes. Flip the pumpkin pieces and roast for another 20 minutes, or until everything is tender.
• Scoop the pumpkin flesh from the skin and blend to make a puree.

Make the soup

• ​Heat a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Add the diced onion, apples and salt. Saute until onions are translucent, about 7 minutes.
• Add the vegetable stock, applesauce, white pepper, sage, thyme and nutmeg. Bring to a boil and cook until apples are very tender, about 5 more minutes.
• Add the pumpkin and brown sugar and cook for 10 – 15 minutes over medium heat.
• Use an immersion blender to blend soup until it's smooth. (You can also use a blender to blend the soup in batches.)
• Add the cream to the soup and heat through over very low heat. (You can add more cream or water, if desired, to thin out more.)
• Remove from heat and serve. Garnish with sliced pumpkin seeds or dried apple slices.