Butternut Soup Shots With Crispy Pancetta Soldiers Recipes

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.
• Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Halve the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Set the squash on a rimmed baking sheet, cut sides up. Put a piece of butter in each cavity and season generously with salt and pepper. Drape the squash halves with the pancetta slices. Roast the squash for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tender. 2. Transfer the pancetta to paper towels to drain. Crumble and set aside. Scoop the squash out of the skins into a bowl. 3. In a large, heavy stockpot, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add 3 of the thyme sprigs and the bay leaf. Stir in the squash and the stock and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat and simmer the soup for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 4. Pick out and discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Working in batches, transfer the soup to a blender or food processor and puree until thick and creamy-smooth, about 1 minute per batch. Transfer the soup to a clean saucepan. Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper (and sugar if desired). 5. Reheat the soup if necessary. Ladle into 12 bowls. Garnish the soup with the pancetta, the leaves from the remaining 3 thyme sprigs and a drizzle of olive oil. MAKE AHEAD The soup and roasted pancetta can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Reheat the soup and recrisp the pancetta before serving; the soup may need to be thinned with stock or water. NOTES Cooking Club Tip: When making squash purées and soups, first bake the squash in the oven until tender so it's easier to remove the flesh from the skin. The smooth varieties can be peeled; for ridged or nubbly squash, simply scoop the flesh out with a spoon.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the pancetta in a frying pan and fry until crispy. Set aside. Put the squash, onion and garlic in a large roasting tin. Add the honey and rosemary, then roast for about 30 mins, turning squash halfway through, until cooked, tender and golden brown.
• Remove tin from the oven, take out the rosemary and discard. Transfer contents of tin to a food processor with the stock, wine, cream and lemon juice. Season, then blend until smooth.
• Transfer mixture to a large saucepan and reheat. Divide soup between individual bowls and top with a sprinkle of pine nuts and pancetta. Serve with Goat's cheese & rosemary tarts if you like (see Goes well with...').