Curried Squash Apple Bisque With Leek Food

CURRIED SQUASH & APPLE BISQUE WITH LEEK

Steps:

• In a heavy-bottomed 6-quart pot, over medium heat, sauté the leeks, celery, apple, and salt in olive oil until softened (8 minutes). Add the curry powder, cinnamon, and bay leaf stirring until the spices become fragrant (1 minute). Add the squash, potato, and broth. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the potato crumbles when pressed with a fork (25-30 minutes). Remove from heat and discard bay leaf. Using an immersion blender or a regular blender (working in small batches), puree the soup until completely smooth. Strain the soup through a fine mesh strainer, taking care not to push the fibrous solids through the mesh. Return the soup to the stove and bring to a light simmer, reducing until the soup lightly coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the maple syrup, orange juice, heavy cream or evaporated skim milk, and a dash of pepper. Garnish with chopped chives, if desired. *Optional garnishes have not been included in the rating of this recipe.

SQUASH AND APPLE BISQUE

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients except sour cream in 3 1/2- to 6-quart slow cooker.
• Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 10 hours (or high heat setting 3 to 5 hours) or until squash is tender.
• Place one-third to one-half of the mixture at a time in blender or food processor. Cover and blend on high speed until smooth. Return mixture to cooker.
• Stir in sour cream. Cover and cook on low heat setting 15 minutes or just until soup is hot; stir.
• Garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, and cook until it turns nut brown. Add the leeks and cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute briefly to release its fragrance.
• Add the squash and apples, raise the heat to high, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Toasted Spice Rub and cook briefly to toast it, about 1 minute.
• Add the stock or broth-water mixture, bring to a simmer, and partially cover. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the squash and apples are tender, about 40 minutes.
• Transfer in batches to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return to the pot, reheat to serving temperature, and season with salt.
• Divide the soup among warmed bowls and garnish each portion with some of the walnuts, if using. Serve immediately.
• In a small heavy pan over medium heat, combine the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns. When the fennel turns light brown, work quickly. Turn on the exhaust fan, add the red pepper flakes, and toss, toss, toss, always under the fan. Immediately turn the spice mixture out onto a plate to cool. Put in a blender with the chili powder, salt, and cinnamon and blend until the spices are evenly ground. If you have a small spice mill or a coffee grinder dedicated to grinding spices, grind only the fennel, coriander, pepper, and chili flakes. Pour into a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients.
• Yield: about 1 cup
• In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat about 1-inch of oil to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add walnuts and blanch for 30 seconds. Drain and transfer nuts to a medium bowl. While nuts are still hot and slightly wet, add confectioners' sugar and toss to coat nuts. Stir and toss until all the sugar has melted into the nuts; if bits of unmelted sugar remain on the nuts, they will not fry properly.
• Stir the nuts again before frying. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer a few nuts to the hot oil, allowing the foam to subside before adding another spoonful. (Otherwise, the oil could foam over and burn you.) Fry in small batches until the nuts are medium brown, about 45 seconds per batch; be careful not to overcook. Scatter on an unlined baking sheet to cool slightly.
• In a small bowl, stir together cayenne, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and the pepper.
• While the nuts are still warm, transfer them to a bowl and sprinkle evenly with about half of the spice mix. Toss well to distribute the spices and then taste a nut. Add more spice mix, to taste, and toss well after each addition. When cool, pack in an airtight jar. They will keep at room temperature for at least 2 weeks.
• Yield: 4 cups

CURRIED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND APPLE BISQUE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place squash onto a baking sheet cut-side down.
• Bake squash in preheated oven until the skin loosens from the flesh, about 40 minutes.
• Heat olive oil in a 5-quart stockpot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir onion and garlic in hot oil until the onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vegetable stock, curry sauce, and apples to the stockpot; bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low.
• Cut squash into 1-inch cubes; add to the stockpot. Bring the mixture again to a simmer, place a cover on the pot, and cook, stirring once every 15 minutes, until the squash is tender and breaks apart easily when stirred, about 2 hours.
• Remove pot from heat and blend soup with an immersion blender until completely pureed. Pour coconut cream into the soup; continue blending until creamy. Top each serving with toasted pine nuts and a couple of leaves of cilantro.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE

Steps:

• In a roasting pan, toss 3 cups of squash, orange juice and brown sugar; add cinnamon. Cover and bake at 450° for 30-40 minutes or until squash is tender. Discard cinnamon; drain squash, reserving cooking liquid. Set squash and liquid aside. , In a Dutch oven, saute the leeks, apple and onion in butter until tender. Add broth; bring to a boil. Stir in cooked squash; cook for 5 minutes. Add the cream, salt and pepper; heat through. Cool slightly. , In a blender, process soup in batches until smooth. Return all to the pan; heat through (do not boil). , Cut remaining squash into 1/4-in. cubes. In a large skillet, saute squash cubes in oil and reserved cooking liquid until squash is tender and liquid has evaporated. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with squash cubes.

CURRIED SQUASHY APPLES & LEEKS

Steps:

• In a small pan, saute leeks in butter until softened then add to crockpot.
• Add remaining ingredients to crockpot & stir.
• Cook 1 1/2 - 2 hours on high until bubbly & the apples are softened.
• Taste to check for seasoning. Add salt & pepper to taste.

CURRIED SQUASH SOUP WITH FRIZZLED LEEKS

Steps:

• Make soup:
• In a large bowl of water wash leeks and drain by lifting leeks from water into a colander. In a heavy kettle cook onion in butter over moderately low heat, stirring until softened. Add leeks and salt to taste and cook, stirring, until softened. Add curry powder and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add remaining soup ingredients and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.
• Cool soup slightly and in a blender or food processor purée in batches, transferring as puréed to a bowl. Season soup with salt and pepper. Soup may be made 5 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, before chilling, covered. Reheat soup, thinning with water if desired.
• Make frizzled leeks:
• Cut leeks lengthwise into thin strips. In a bowl of water wash leeks and drain by lifting leeks from water into a colander. Dry leeks very well between layers of paper towels.
• In a saucepan at least 3 1/2 inches deep heat 1 inch oil to 375°F. on a deep-fat thermometer. Working in very small batches fry leeks (oil will bubble up quite high) until golden, about 10 to 15 seconds, transferring with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Season frizzled leeks with salt. Leeks may be fried 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
• Serve soup topped with frizzled leeks.

CURRIED ACORN SQUASH BISQUE

Steps:

• Place squash into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain.
• Combine flour, curry powder, ginger, and brown sugar in a small bowl; mix loosely to combine.
• Melt 1/2 of the butter in a deep pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic; saute for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup whipping cream, remaining butter, olive oil, vinegar, and bouillon cube. Add flour mixture; cook and slowly stir for 15 seconds, then reduce heat to medium or medium-low. Cover with a lid and cook until veggies are cooked through, about 3 minutes.
• Add cooked squash on top of the veggies, and season generously with salt and pepper; do not stir. Cover and cook until squash is heated through, about 1 minute.
• Fill blender halfway with squash mixture. Cover and hold lid down with a potholder; pulse a few times before leaving on to blend until mostly smooth. Pour into a pot. Repeat with remaining squash mixture.
• Reheat soup if needed. Put into a large serving bowl or separate serving dishes, garnish with cilantro, and drizzle with cream.

ACORN SQUASH BISQUE

Steps:

• Place squashes on a paper towel and microwave on high just until tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the microwave, and halve each squash lengthwise (to speed cooling). When cool enough to handle, scoop out and discard the seeds. Scrape out flesh into a bowl; discard skin. (To prepare in oven, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Halve squash lengthwise; scoop out and discard seeds. Place squash, cut side down, on a rimmed baking sheet; cover tightly with aluminum foil. Roast until almost tender when pierced wtih a knife, 15 to 25 minutes. When cool enough to handle, scrape out flesh, discard skin, and proceed with step 2).
• In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium. Add onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add squash, thyme, broth, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce to medium, and cook until squash is very tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Working in batches, puree mixture in a blender until very smooth, about 1 minute. Return to pan; add half-and-half, and season generously with salt and pepper. Thin bisque, if needed, by adding more water. Serve garnished with thyme.

SQUASH AND APPLE BISQUE

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients except the sour cream in a 31/2 to 6 quart slow cooker.
• Cover and cook on low heating 8 to 10 hours (or on a high heat setting for 3 to 5 hours) or until squash is tender.
• Place one third to one half of the mixture at a time in a blender or food processor, cover and blend on high speed until smooth. Return mixture to the slow cooker.
• Stir in the sour cream. Cover and cook on a low heat setting for 15 minutes or until the soup is hot. Stir.
• Garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream or unflavoured natural yoghurt (preferably Greek yoghurt), and swirl it into the soup with the tip of a knife.
• For crunch and colour, sprinkle with poppy seeds or chopped pecans.
• If serving chilled: garnish with thin slices of Granny Smith apples and a sprinkling of finely chopped crystalised ginger.
• Chef's Notes: I made this with butternut pumpkin rather than squash, simply because that's what was available. To simplify the preparation stage, I wrapped the two halves of the butternut pumpkin I'd bought in foil and steamed them in a low oven for about an hour. The pumpkin was then easy to scoop out, and I chopped it roughly with a large spoon after I'd put it in the crockpot. I used three onions, roughly chopped, and two leeks, and instead of apple sauce, I used 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped. I also did the blending with an immersion blender. I simply removed half of the soup into a bowl, and blended each half, then returned what I'd removed to the crockpot. It smelt delicious while it was cooking, and tasted great.