Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Ingredients for Soup (Yields approx. 1 ½ gallons)

3 ea. medium sized Butternut Squash (yields 8 c.)
½ ea. Yellow Onion, diced
2 ea. Carrots, diced
2 ribs, Celery, diced
1/3 c. Marsalla Wine
1 Gal. Chicken Stock
1 qt. Heavy Cream
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
½ tsp. Black Pepper, fresh ground
1 ½ tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 oz. Butter, clarified
2 ea. Bay Leaves
1 Tbl. Brown Sugar
2 oz. Honey
½ tsp. Cayenne Pepper
As Needed Sage Leaves for garnish

Ingredients for Maple Bacon

12 slices Thick Cut Bacon
¼ c. Brown Sugar
¼ c. Pure Maple Syrup/Breakfast Syrup

Ingredients for White Chocolate Foam

¼ c. White Chocolate
1 c. Heavy Cream

Directions for the soup

Cut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. Season with salt and pepper. Roast flesh side down in a 350 degree oven until very tender, approx. 35 to 45 minutes.

Allow squash to cool enough to handle. Remove the pulp from the skins. This should yield approx. 8 cups of cooked butternut squash.

In a soup pan add the clarified butter and sauté the carrots, celery and onion until the onion is translucent. Deglaze the vegetables with the Marsalla wine stirring the vegetables and wine until the wine evaporates. Add the chicken stock and bay leaves and the roasted squash. Bring the mixture to a boil then simmer 20 minutes until all of the vegetables are tender.

Remove the bay leaves and puree the soup with an immersion or stick blender or carefully in small in batches in a blender until completely smooth.

Heat the heavy cream, pumpkin pie spice, cayenne, brown sugar and the honey in a separate sauce pan just to the boiling point. Whisk the hot cream mixture into the squash mixture. Adjust the seasoning of the soup with the salt and pepper to your taste. Portion the soup into individual servings then drizzle or spoon the maple crème fraiche on top of the soup just prior to serving.

Maple Glazed Bacon

Lay slices of bacon on a cookie sheet or cookie rack placed on a cookie sheet. Rub the brown sugar on the bacon,’Roast in a 350 degree oven until starting to brown 10 minutes or so. Then spread a layer of syrup on the bacon returning the bacon to the oven to glaze. Repeat as often as desires at least two times minimum and to desired bacon crispness. Cool on rack.

White Chocolate Foam

Heat heavy cream just up to the boil. Pour the cream over the white chocolate in a separate bowl. Stir until completely dissolved. Chill until cold. Minimum of 40 degrees or overnight . beat with a whisk until desired thickness or with an electric hand blender. Portion soup, top with chocolate foam, bacon and sage leaves