Spiked Pumpkin Soup

This silky, slightly sweet soup is a fitting starter for various holiday entrées, including roast turkey, ham, or pork tenderloin. Bourbon enhances the natural sweetness of the pumpkin.

Yield: 9 servings (serving size: about 1 cup soup, 1 tablespoon sour cream, and 1 teaspoon parsley)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1/2  teaspoon  minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2  cups  apple cider
• 1/3  cup  bourbon
• 1/4  cup  maple syrup
• 1  (29-ounce) can pumpkin
• 1  (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2  cups  2% reduced-fat milk
• 1  teaspoon  all-purpose flour
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 9  tablespoons  reduced-fat sour cream
• 3  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preparation

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, ginger, cumin, and garlic cloves; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in cider, bourbon, syrup, pumpkin, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

Place half of pumpkin mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Pour pureed mixture into a large bowl. Repeat process with remaining pumpkin mixture. Return pureed mixture to pan. Stir in milk, flour, salt, and pepper; cook until thoroughly heated (do not boil), stirring frequently. Serve with sour cream. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

163 (19% from fat)

Fat:

3.4g (sat 1.8g,mono 0.3g,poly 0.1g)

Protein:

5.1g

Carbohydrate:

24.9g

Fiber:

4.2g

Cholesterol:

12mg

Iron:

0.8mg

Sodium:

255mg

Calcium:

119mg