Pumpkin Soup:
3/4 gallon hot water
4 tbs vegetable base
all pumpkin pulp (insides, no seeds); which equals roughly 3 cups
1 cup half & half
1/2 pound butter
pinch of salt
pinch of white pepper
big pinch of nutmeg
big pinch of cinnamon
big pinch of fresh parsley
1/4 cup white flour
Method of cooking Pumpkin Soup:
Bring water and vegetable base to a boil, add all pulp of pumpkin to water while boiling and reduce to a solid liquid (est. time 20 min), bring to a low boil, add your half & half, butter, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon and fresh parsley. Immediately following, whisk in white flour and keep whisking to avoid lumping, bring to a simmer and serve.
Pumpkin seeds/method:
Pre-heat oven at 350. Wash pumpkin seeds till clean, put seeds in strainer to drain water, add a pinch of salt and granulated garlic while tossing in strainer.
On a sheet pan add 1/2 cup of olive oil then spread seeds over sheet pan evenly, place pan in pre-heated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and place back in strainer, add a pinch of parmesan cheese while tossing in strainer. Place seeds in a bowl for snacking or use as garnish for your pumpkin soup.
About Don Dial, Chef/Owner of Rocco's Café, South of Market
Don Dial grew up with Italian cooking in his blood. His mother was a typical Italian mom, always cooking or baking something from scratch, and both his grandfather and uncle ran successful Italian restaurants in San Francisco spanning over five decades. As a young boy, Don would spend many hours with his family rolling dough into little pillow shapes to make fresh Gnocchi pasta, picking fresh blackberries for blackberry pie, or canning peaches, pears and apples for winter.
By the age of 18, Don was ready to put this valuable experience to use and entered the restaurant business as a line cook for a very popular Italian restaurant in North Beach, quickly advancing to Night Manager. By this time, Don knew that some day he would own his own Italian restaurant in San Francisco.
Rocco's Cafe is named after Don's grandfather, Rocco Coscarelli, who ran Rocco's Fine Food restaurant for more than 20 years; the key ingredients were quality, quantity, and personality. This old-school Italian recipe for success was passed down to Don, who 17 years ago opened Rocco's Cafe in his honor.
Today, Rocco's enjoys a loyal following of regular customers who keep coming back to this South of Market neighborhood institution to experience the flavor of Italy with the feeling of Old North Beach. With Don as Chef everything is Special and each dish is an Original cooked with individual attention.
Website: http://www.roccoscafe.com
>> Recipes for Rocco's famous homemade salad dressings
