Pumpkin Soup with Chorizo

From Prevention Magazine, November 2010

Diced chorizo (or other sausage)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
Sweet onion, chopped
Celery, chopped
2 peeled and diced apples
Salt and pepper
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
16-ounce canned pumpkin
Chicken stock
Heavy cream

Brown diced chorizo (or other sausage) in 2 Tbsp each olive oil and butter. Remove from the pan and saute chopped sweet onion and celery. Add 2 peeled and diced apples and cook a few minutes longer. Season with salt, peppr, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in a 16-ounce can of pumpkin and chicken stock to thin it somewhat, and let simmer about 30 minutes. Finish with a touch of heavy cream, season again, add the chorizo, and serve.

Try #1 - October 2010
This was very interesting. I used Italian sweet sausage, which wasn't exactly the right choice for this soup. Next time I would pick a spicier sausage, to balance out the sweetness of the soup. I'm also glad I let it simmer for a while (sometimes we're in a hurry to eat!), because it really thickened the soup up. I added plain yogurt on each serving instead of cream at the end - another good way to cut the sweetness a bit. This might be a once-a-season soup for us.