Golden Harvest Soup

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Chef Heidi Fink shares her recipe for a warming late autumn soup with a twist – a swirl of sweet ginger crème.

Soup

4T butter

1½ medium yellow onions, diced

2 lbs sweet winter squash – I use Kabocha, Buttercup, Sweet Mama, Red Kari, or Ambercup (there should be 5-6 cups peeled and chopped)

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

1 pinch cinnamon

2 bay leaves

4 large ripe pears (about 4-5 cups, peeled and chopped)

1 tsp salt, or more to taste

6 cups stock or water

To make soup:  Heat a heavy soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add the butter and heat until butter is melted and frothy.   Add the onion and stir. Sauté, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and cooked through. Turn heat down, and continue to cook until onions are deep gold and caramelized.  This will take over 20 minutes. Use this time to prep the squash and pear.

When onions are ready, stir in the ginger, cinnamon and bay leaves and sauté until fragrant (a few seconds). Add the stock, the salt and the chopped squash.  Bring to a boil, simmer for a few minutes, then add the pear and bring to a boil again.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until everything is fall-apart tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove bay leaves. Puree the soup using a hand-held immersion blender, or in batches in a counter-top blender. Return to pot, if using a counter-top blender, and taste to see if it needs more salt.  Don’t be tempted to add more ginger unless you are not going to use the garnish.

Garnish:  Sweet Ginger Crème

½ cup crystallized ginger, chopped

1 to 1½ cups heavy cream

To make garnish:  Place the chopped crystallized ginger and about ½ cup cream in the work bowl of a food processor.  Puree, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary, until the mixture is as smooth as possible. Add another half-cup of cream and puree until thickened. Scrape out into a bowl and stir in more heavy cream until garnish reaches the consistency you like.  If you are going to serve the crème in a dollop, add only a few tablespoons more heavy cream.  If you are going to put the crème garnish into a squirt bottle to make swirly designs in the soup, add half-cup or more extra cream to make the garnish thin enough to pour.

To serve: Ladle Golden Harvest Soup into bowls and garnish with a dollop or swirl of Sweet Ginger Crème.  Serve immediately.