Rustic Bacon and Pumpkin Soup

1. Cook bacon until crispy. My preferred method is to lay out the bacon strips on a rimmed cookie sheet (I used 2 cookie sheets for this recipe).

2. Place in a cold oven and turn the oven on the 400F. Around the time the oven is done preheating, the bacon is ready.

3. Remove the bacon from the cookie sheet(s) and reserve the bacon grease. Once bacon has cooled, cut or crumble into large bacon bits.

4. Preheat oven to 375F (if you do this step immediately after cooking the bacon, it’s fine if your oven starts a little hot).

5. Cut your pumpkins in half. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Place pumpkin halves on a cookie sheet cut side up. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until soft.

6. Remove from oven and let cool. Spoon pumpkin meat out of the peel.

7. Mash with a fork or potato masher (this gives a more uneven texture which is part of the rustic nature of this soup; you could also use a potato ricer or immersion blender for a finer-textured soup).

8. Peel onion and garlic. Dice onion and garlic.

9. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of bacon grease (per 4 servings) in a medium stock pot over medium-high heat.

10. Add diced onions and garlic and sauté until onions are fully cooked and caramelized.

11. Add broth to deglaze the pot.

12. Add mashed pumpkin, nutmeg, and 2-3 additional tablespoons of bacon grease (per 4 servings). You want 4-5 tablespoons bacon grease total; it’s a good idea to add a little less and then taste your soup and decide if you want it to be more.

13. Turn the heat down to medium-low and bring to a simmer.

14. Serve the soup by ladling into a bowl and generously topping with bacon crumbles.