Pumpkin Consommé with Roasted Pork Belly

Looking for a new challenge in the kitchen? Try Pumpkin Consommé with Roasted Cinnamon, Honey Glazed Pork Belly, Ramen & Fried Sage, complete with McCormick Culinary® Pumpkin Pie Spice.

Ingredients

Procedure

For the consommé:

1. In a large heavy bottom stock pot, add sunflower oil and bring to medium heat.
2. Add ginger and cook 2 minutes or until fragrant, not browned. Add pumpkin pie spice and white pepper, stir for 30 seconds to release aromatics. Add pumpkin and cook stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add water and bring up in temperature until steady simmer is achieved. Simmer stirring occasionally for 20 to 25 minutes. Reduce by 1/4, leaving a 3-quart yield.
3. Reduce heat to low and remove 1 quart of the soup, cool this quart completely.
4. Once cooled stir the gelatin into cooled quart and return the heat of the slowly simmering stock to high. Add gelatin mixture to the hot soup and stir to completely incorporate.
5. Once simmering remove from heat and strain well through a fine sieve, using cheesecloth.
6. Pour strained soup into flat pan and place in the freezer for the gelatin to begin to form. Once gelled and before frozen, cut the gelatin into 1" cubes. Freeze completely. Place a strainer over a saucepan in the refrigerator and place the frozen cubes into the strainer, allow to thaw and drip into the saucepan overnight in the fridge. This could take up to 24 hours.
7. The resulting liquid that drips into the saucepan will be your completed, clean and clear pumpkin consommé. This recipe will yield approximately 1 quart of consommé. Reserve for future use.

For the pork belly:

1. Preheat oven to 250ºF.
2. Score pork belly in a crossing pattern with a 1/8" deep slice approximately 1/8" apart.
3. Place pork belly, 2 tablespoons honey and black peppercorns in a small sauté pan. Add enough water to come approximately 1/3 up the side of the pork belly.
4. Place in the oven and cook at 250ºF for approximately 5 hours, reaching an internal temperature of 160ºF.
5. Once cooked, remove and cool until well-chilled.
6. Cut into equal portions and place pork belly portions in a small sauté pan. Cover each with the remaining 1 tablespoon honey and dust with the cinnamon. Broil on high until dark brown and crisp on top, and heated through. Set aside.

For the sage:

1. In small heavy-bottom saucepan heat the oil to 325ºF. Add sage leaves and fry for approximately 30 seconds.
2. Remove and place on paper towel. Set aside.

To assemble the consommé:

1. Heat the consommé to a simmer, and to also heat the ramen.
2. Pour 6 to 8 ounces of soup into each of four bowls of choice for serving.
3. Add 1 1/2 ounces of ramen to each of the bowls, add pork belly, and season the soups with salt.
4. Garnish with a dusting of pumpkin pie spice and fried sage. Salt to taste.