Recipe: Janie Franz' Pumpkin Ginger Bisque

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Winding up our Good Eats, Great Reads event today with author Janie Franz' Pumpkin Ginger Bisque. Her son, Chef Scott Franz, shares this tasty recipe and Janie introduces us to her romantic thriller, Ruins Discovery. Welcome, Janie!

Janie Franz’ Pumpkin Ginger Bisque

Thoughts of pumpkin and harvest come to mind this time of year and are part of the back story of my first book with Muse It Up Publishing, Ruins: Discovery. It’s a book set in Arizona that deals with anthropology student Kate Ferguson’s encounter Paul Rodriguez, a man conflicted by a dual heritage of Spanish and a native people far older than those in the state where he designs buildings.

So as a tribute to Paul, I offer a harvest recipe where pumpkin shines as a vegetable. It comes to you via my very talented son, Chef Scott Franz, who is the executive chef and part owner of The Toasted Frog in North Dakota.

Pumpkin, actually a fruit not a vegetable, has been treated as such and served as the foundation for pies, cakes, muffins, bars, and puddings. A powerhouse of nutrients, pumpkins have no cholesterol and are low in fat.  They are rich in beta carotenes and Vitamin A and have been used as a vegetable in Central America and Mexico, where they originated, for over 7,000 years. Native people living alongside the early colonists in America introduced the pumpkin to these new settlers who sent seed back to Europe. The first pumpkin pie was really a spiced pudding made in the pumpkin shell. Settlers removed the seeds and filled the cavity with milk, honey, and spices. They baked it and then spooned out the warm delicious contents.

Pumpkin Ginger Bisque

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 medium carrots, diced

1 small onion, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

one-half leek, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 ounce fresh ginger, minced

2 ounces dry, white wine

7 cups fresh, cooked pumpkin, cubed

40 ounces chicken stock

salt

pepper

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon nutmeg

sour cream

toasted pumpkin seeds

            In a 3 quart stock pot, heat oil and butter on medium high heat.  Saute the first four ingredients for 5 minutes.  Add minced garlic and ginger. Saute until aromatic, about 3 minutes.  Deglaze pan with white wine.  Add 7 cups of fresh cooked pumpkin. And 40 ounces of chicken stock. Cook 15-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Insert a Burr mill and emulsify the soup. This step should only take a few minutes. Add the heavy cream and the nutmeg and stir.

            Ladle into bowls and serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds.

[Chef Scott says: Don’t throw those pumpkin seeds out! Remove all of the fibers clinging to the seeds and wash the seeds in a bowl of water.  Let them soak for 10-15 minutes. Drain and lay out on a paper towel to pat dry. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with oil. Bake for X minutes until toasted. Salt. Use as a garnish or for eating out of the hand as a snack.]

Muse It Up Publishing:

Buy Link for Ruins Discovery

Amazon Buy Link

Barnes & Noble Buy Link

Reader Store: Buy Link

Author Janie Franz Website

Book blurb:

Anthropologist Kate Ferguson stumbles upon desert ruins, ancient rituals, and psychic gifts, awakening a love that could prove deadly.

Short Excerpt:

Though some of Kate’s fellow graduate students would probably have noticed the superb fit of the stranger’s designer suit, it was his black hair, beginning to gray at his temples, which caught her eye. That was an odd quality in someone his age with his obvious Spanish lineage and apparent refinement. She scanned his features, taking in his sensitive mouth and a nose hinting at an Aztec hawkishness.

She quickly rejected the comparison as she turned to Dr. Swartz, her employer as well as her faculty advisor. He had accused her on more than one occasion of trying to find Aztecs under every rock as she researched Aztec/Maya links with the Arizona prehistoric peoples.

Embarrassed at the memory, she turned back to the stranger. His dark gaze concentrated on her intently for a few seconds, and then he retreated into his thoughts as if he could only focus on the world around him in brief glimpses. It didn’t seem like the muddleheaded preoccupation she’d seen among physics majors. And, it definitely wasn’t drugs—or any she had read about—since he just exhibited a piercing moment of clarity and after that withdrew. It seemed a controlled act or one repeated so often it had become habit. His ability to turn on a single moment of intense interest and concentration like switching on a floodlight—and quickly turn it off—fascinated Kate. She wondered if he had family problems preoccupying him—an errant wife or a child flunking school.