Gingered Squash And Ham Soup With Cornmeal Dumplings Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Brush cut side of butternut squash with olive oil and place on a baking sheet, cut-side down.
• Bake in the preheated oven until peel is crinkly and butternut squash is soft, about 40 minutes. Scrape flesh into a bowl with a spoon and set aside.
• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat and cook onions until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add squash flesh, 2 cups hot broth, and ginger. Season with ginger, curry, cumin, sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until flavors are well combined, about 15 minutes.
• Puree soup with an immersion blender until smooth. Add more hot broth for a thinner soup. Stir in cream and season to taste with sugar, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, and salt.

Steps:

• Halve squash lengthwise with a sharp knife and discard seeds and strings. Peel squash and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
• In a 4-quart saucepan simmer squash, garlic, gingerroot, and water, partially covered, until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes. In a blender purée mixture in batches and return to pan. Stir in tomatoes, ham, and salt and pepper to taste. Soup may be prepared up to this point 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.
• Into a bowl sift together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt and blend in butter until mixture resembles meal. Add milk, egg, and chives and stir until batter is just combined. Bring soup to a bare simmer.
• Drop batter by rounded tablespoons onto soup and simmer, covered, until dumplings are just cooked through, about 12 minutes.

Steps:

• 1. Place ham bone in 6 cups water and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste. Bring to boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove ham bone and discard.
• 2. Add green onions, salt, black pepper, ham, and parsley flakes to broth. Simmer one hour.
• 3. Mix ingredients for dumplings together. Dipping by teaspoonfuls, gently roll batter in the palms of your hands into approximately 1-inch balls; drop into boiling soup liquid. Make sure each dumpling is completely covered in liquid by shaking pot gently. Do not stir.
• 4. Cook 10 minutes uncovered; then cover and cook on low heat for 25 minutes.

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450*F.
• Line a jelly roll pan with tinfoil.
• Halve the squash lenghtwise and with a sharp metal spoon scrape out and discard all the seeds and fibres.
• Lay the squash halves, cut side down, on the pan and bake them until they are very tender when pierced with a fork-- about 40 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and when the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh, including any well browned edges.
• Chop and reserve the flesh.
• In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter.
• Add the apple, onion,ginger and garlic and cook, uncovered, stirring once or twice until lightly browned.
• (15 to 20 minutes) Add the stock, reserved squash, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.
• Partially cover the pan and cook the soup, stirring occasionally until the apples are very tender, about 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove from heat and cool slightly.
• Puree the soup in batches in a food processor or blender, or force it through a food mill.
• This soup can be prepared up to 3 days in advance, and will taste the better for it.
• Cool, cover and refridgerate.
• To serve, return soup to the pan.
• Add the cream if you are using it, and heat, stirring often, until steaming, about 5 minutes.
• Adjust the seasoning and ladle into bowls.
• NOTE: A spoonful of sweetly caramelized apples and a dollop of ginger cream will transform this simple country soup into a dazzling starter.
• Or, sprinkle it with crumbled Gorgonzola (about 1 cup), diced raw red apple (about 3/4 cup) and chopped pistachios or toasted pumpking seeds (about 1/2 cup) For Carmelized apples: melt 3 TBS unsalted butter.
• Add 2 medium-large cored, peeled and diced Granny Smith apples and cook stirring often until lightly browned.
• Add 1 TBS packed golden brown sugar, a pinch of salt and a generous grinding of black pepper and cook, stirring another 5 minutes until the apples are well browned and glazed.
• Use hot.
• For Ginger Cream: In a small bowl, whisk 1/3 cup chilled whipping cream into soft peaks.
• Stir in 1 TBs fresh ginger juice, made by finely shredding the ginger on a grater and pressing it through a seive set over a small bowl.