There is driving rain and 20mph winds so I made some soup to try to balance out the universe on our end. We ate a very similar soup when we finally had dinner at the Mayfield Bakery/Cafe so I can claim credit for neither the recipe nor the inspiration.
If you have an immersion blender, or a regular blender, use it. I only have a huge food processor and I made a correspondingly giant mess trying to puree the soup in there. It tastes delicious but I'm sure there are easier ways to do it. I was thinking about fixing this ahead next year for Thanksgiving and using the blender (that I will purchase shortly) right before serving.
Surprisingly, I wasn't crazy for the Croutons. I love cheese and bread but I could have eaten the soup without them too. This is not the best utilization of Gruyere that I have seen. There is nothing really tart or acidic to balance it.
Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons
Taken from Smitten Kitchen and
Adapted from Bon Appétit, December 1996
Serves 8
Soup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 14 1/2-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)*
4 cups 1-inch pieces peeled acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)*
1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh sage
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 cup whipping cream
Croutons
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
24 1/4-inch-thick baguette bread slices
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced fresh sage
For soup:
1. Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Add broth, all squash and herbs; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return soup to same pot. Stir in cream and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.)
For croutons:
1. Preheat broiler. Butter 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange bread, buttered side up, on baking sheet.
2. Broil until golden, about 1 minute. Turn over. Sprinkle cheese, then thyme and sage over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each with croutons and serve.
* If you are not confident in your knife skills or lack a very very sharp one, I’d suggest roasting the squash, halved and seeded, on a baking sheet coated lightly with oil at 425 until soft, scooping it into the pot, and cooking it the rest of the way there. Peeling, seeding and chopping raw squash is not the easiest endeavor. Alternatively, you could buy butternut squash already peeled and chopped in many stores (Trader Joe's). Haven’t seen acorn yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment