TV Dinner: Pumpkin, Sausage & Red Bell Pepper

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) - Chef Chris Manning has been making this recipe for many years and says it always goes over well.

He uses smoky, spicy andouille sausage, but says you can use something milder, such as kielbasa or Italian sausage. You can also make it heartier by adding cooked, diced sweet potato or regular potato.

The soup, he says, pairs well with this week’s featured beverages from Arsenal Street Wine and Liquor and Bottlecaps and Beverage Center: Honeycrisp Classic Apple Wine and Barrel Aged McIntosh Apple Wine by 1911.

Pumpkin, Sausage & Red Bell Pepper Soup

- 6 cups chicken stock

- 1 small onion, diced

- 2 ribs celery, diced

- 1 small carrot, diced

- 2 medium red bell peppers (or roasted red peppers), diced

- 1 pound andouille sausage, diced

- 4 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 teaspoon whole leaf thyme

- Salt and pepper to taste.

- 1 29-ounce can pumpkin purée

- 2 cups half and half

Combine all ingredients except pumpkin purée and half and half in a four-quart Dutch oven. Bring to a boil and turn heat to low. Cook until veggies are softened.

Add pumpkin and mix well. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then add half and half. Serve warm. Garnish with pumpkin seeds, chopped cilantro, or diced apple.

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