One Last Hurrah for Foie Gras

We've been on a bit of a hiatus lately. Indulging in the pure enjoyment of food and not the constant recording of it. But later this week, the California ban on tasty duck liver goes into effect. No more foie gras for Californians! We had to get our last taste in before it goes away for good, and found some at Umamicatessen.

It's a controversial debate, this banning of food. But will it spawn a black market for the delicious pâté, replete with an underground network of distributors? Will the privileged few hold hush-hush dinner parties behind bolted doors that you can only access blindfolded and with a password? Are we in for another Prohibition era? Bathtub gin and duck liver, mmm!

What is it about this buttery pâté that is so delicious? Cow liver tastes like mushy black death, and I know this because my mother made me eat it once as a child, and it was the most revolting thing ever. Nothing I've eaten since has ever been that bad. The memory still haunts me to this day. Some people like it; I'm not one of them. Eww.

Duck fat is highly prized, called liquid gold in some circles. Peking duck, which I had for the first time in San Francisco's Chinatown (a resplendent city center of chaos and divine odors wafting through the air as I walked through it, wide-eyed and entranced) defined what Chinese food should be for me at as a young teenager. So it's no wonder that duck innards, in this case the delectable liver, are equally as popular.

Popular, but not inexpensive. When Grub Street, reporting on the looming ban, listed several places at which one could steal a final mesmerizing duck-filled feast, we opted for the most economical: Umamicatessan's foie gras doughnut. That such a high-end food product could be found in a piece of fried dough was perfectly incongruous. It was also an excuse to check out the Umami chain's downtown locale.

What we found was a full service restaurant and bar, which we walked into right at the start of happy hour. An auspicious beginning! The bar menu boasted many offerings but all I saw was a truffle slider. It was no contest: a truffle slider with a Belgian-style wheat ale and foie gras donut for dessert! The perfect last meal.

 

The burger was exceptionally juicy, my mouth is watering at the mere memory. With a trademark U seared into the bun. Cute.

Then came dessert. A jelly donut, the insides sharing space with a creamy foie gras mousse. A teesy weensy amount of foie gras mousse. About $8 worth of mousse. I ordered 3.

I know you're asking yourself how I could spend $24 on a mere three doughnuts. Am I insane? Can I write it off? If you've been reading this blog for any length of time I don't need to answer that because the answer is, clearly, when it comes to food, a resounding duh. (And no, I can't write it off.)

I had to devour one and save the other two for your photographic pleasure, obviously. And also my breakfast pleasure.

So how does one feel after savoring $24 worth of FG&J doughnuts? Not well. That's a lot of fried food. And NOT a lot of duck liver. Would I have preferred the foie gras sushi at the prohibitively expensive neighborhood restaurant n/naka? Absolutely, but the rent is due.

Though you might find me at Tasting Kitchen at some point in the next few days, like an addict, looking for one last score.

Pomegranate Molasses Yogurt Bread

I don't know why I shy away from baking. I even bought myself what has been termed the gleaming red Ferrari of a mixer to try to overcome this. I really should be more enthused about it, it's like chemistry! I liked chemistry.

So when the ladies at Food 52 posted a recipe for Maple Yogurt Pound Cake, I decided to experiment. I switched out the maple syrup for pomegranate molasses, and use tart Greek yogurt.  Super tartness!

The first time the bread came out tasting pretty good, but it didn't rise much. I realized my baking powder was probably too old. I liked the sweet tartness of the pomegranate molasses, and it was so very moist. So I made it again for Mother's Day.

The second time around I also tripled the sugar, using brown sugar too. Since the original recipe used maple syrup, I had to make up for the lack of sweetness. And I love brown sugar. 

The reviews were definitely mixed. I loved it, super moist and tart, but it a good way. My mom loved it, but my niece, nephew, and older brother did not. I told them their palettes weren't sophisticated enough to appreciate it, but they would get there eventually. These are the same people who love my pancakes, after all.

The original recipe is here.

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Pomegranate Molasses Yogurt Bread

adapted from Maple Yogurt Pound Cake 

A tart but exceptionally moist loaf of cake bread.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
• 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or butter a metal loaf pan (8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inches).2. Whisk together the molasses, yogurt, eggs, sugars, vanilla, and lemon zest. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, then add to the wet ingredients. Once the dry ingredients are fully incorporated, add in the oil until fully absorbed by the batter.3. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes. If a toothpick tester doesn't come out clean, cook for another 5-10 minutes.4. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then cut around the sides to loosen. Turn the cake onto a rack and cool completely.5. Top with butter, whipped cream, or simply stuff it naked in your mouth.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 50 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 1 loaf

Turkey Goat Cheese Meatballs

You know how this story starts. I had some turkey and a hankering for goat cheese, so I looked for an easy way to combine them. Hence, meatballs. Turkey goat cheese meatballs. Balls of meat oozing goat cheese.

It's like a mini version of food nirvana for me.

Since I was only cooking for two, I used half a pound of ground turkey meat. And about two ounces of soft herbed chèvre. If I hadn't put it in the meat, I would've spread it all over crackers. This is an arguably healthier option.

This is just about when I discovered lemon pepper, too. I've had it for a while, but have been hesitant to use it. This time I threw caution to the wind. Somehow the lemon pepper, turmeric, coriander, and paprika were perfect together. Quite deliciously perfect.

I also made a very quick cilantro yogurt sauce for them (chop cilantro and add to Greek yogurt with ground ginger, ground coriander and garlic powder). It was a damn good combination overall.

And disappeared far too quickly. Next time, I'll go for the full pound of meat.

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Easy Bake Turkey Goat Cheese Meatballs

by Paulette Fontanez May-15-2012

A simple baked meatball recipe, stuffed with creamy goat cheese goodness.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound ground turkey
• 2 gloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 ounces soft herbed goat cheese
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon turmeric
• 1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1/2 tablespoon paprika

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lightly spray with cooking spray.2. Combine all the ingredients until well mixed. Make sure cheese is evenly spread throughout.3. Roll the mixture into golf ball-size balls. Space evenly on the baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown. Cheese might ooze out.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 25 mins Yield: 9 meatballs

Quicky Appetizer: Bacon-Wrapped Goat Cheese-Stuffed Dates

It will take you longer to say the name of this appetizer than it will to either make them or eat them all.

I had these recently at a friend's party, and that reminded me of a little snack I'd made at home a few weeks prior. She had stuffed hers with blue cheese, which I usually don't care for (yes, there are some cheeses I don't like), but when paired with salty bacon and sweet dates, it somehow just worked.

And that's another benefit of these delicious little bites: you can stuff them with anything. Don't fancy cheese? I don't understand what that means, but stuff it with mango instead. Don't eat bacon? Wrap these in...ha, funny! Ok, fine I do understand that some people don't eat bacon. Don't wrap them. Dip them in chocolate instead.

Ooh, something new to try...

Don't like dates? Use figs instead. Or jalapeños.

I told you: so many possibilities.

Each pitted date uses one-half of a slice of bacon. Stuff with a small bit of cheese, wrap the bacon around,  and bake on a lined sheet for 15-20 minutes (until bacon reaches the crispiness you desire) at 350 degrees F. 

Let them cool lest you burn your tongue.

It takes longer to say the name than to write the recipe. Enjoy.

Adventures in Homemade Whiskey Marshmallows

My birthday is next week, so as an early birthday present, I bought myself this beautiful red stand mixer. And the first thing I made was gooey marshmallows.

Ooey gooey sticky vanilla marshmallows. And then at the last second, I added in a bit of bacon whiskey.

Like you're surprised.

Another non-surprise: making marshmallows is messy business. You're going to get sugar and cornstarch everywhere. Clean that up, you don't want ants! I hate making a mess. I also hate waiting overnight for dessert.

Why did I do this? I don't even really like marshmallows. I definitely do not crave them the way I do that other messy time-intensive cooking project, cheese.

People who make their own marshmallows say things like "you'll never eat store bought again." Why not? Buying and then devouring a bag full of mass-produced marshmallows will make you just as fat as eating the ones you make yourself. The only difference: there's no mess in the kitchen to clean up before the ants get to it.

I guess it was the challenge presented by this. And the way they looked in the morning light, once I finally cut them all to size:

That took forever too. I really started to hate marshmallows once this was all said and done.

This recipe from Thomas Keller's French Laundry Cookbook was very easy, at least. No need for candy thermometers, just boil some sugar, water, and corn syrup together, then beat it for 12-ish minutes with bloomed gelatin, add the flavorings (I tossed in the whiskey with the vanilla), pour into a pan and let it sit for a while. Cut, dust with confectioner's sugar, eat, done. In the end you'll be left with a trillion squares and powdered sugar everywhere.

There are other recipes that call for egg whites. That's probably messier still.

I'm not doing this again. It was a complete waste of whiskey and now I have a trillion of them in the pantry.

Or if I somehow forget this lesson, I'll use the Alton Brown method of making mini mallows.

As for my birthday present, what will I use it for next?

Lemony Pasta with Lox

Dorothy, the genius lady behind Shockingly Delicious, has awesome ideas. Need to caramelize onions? Use your slow cooker. Want grown up rice krispie treats? Brown the butter and add rosemary.

Those are just two of my favorites.

So when she posted her take on Lemony Pasta with Smoked Salmon and Dill, I knew I had to try it. It sounded so easy. I love easy.

I finally got my hands on some Meyer lemons. Dorothy and Erika (of In Erika's Kitchen) both mention Meyer lemons a lot. Sweet lemons is how my grocer labeled them. I like sour stuff. But I trust these ladies.

Still, I had to make a few modifications. Instead of crème fraiche, I used a wheel of Boursin herbed cheese. It never melts the way I want it to, but it always tricks me into using it. And I also forgot the capers. This would have helped out in the sour department.

In the end, it tasted fine. I really like lox. It's about the only way I tolerate salmon. I also really like it raw (drowning in lemon juice). But lox and pasta is good. I should have used the crème fraiche. And the capers. How could I leave those out? That was dumb.

Also, next time, regular lemons. Because I like to pucker up when it comes to lemons.

Easy Dinner: Honey Soy Tilapia

I'm having people over for dinner tonight. I need something quick and easy because after working the whole day and trying to squeeze in a spin class, I'm going to have all of about 15 minutes to make dinner.

Enter fish. Namely, tilapia. It only needs to marinate for a few minutes, cooks quickly, and tastes delicious. I know this because I tested this recipe last week and it was damn good. Then I posted a picture of it on Facebook and told my friends that's what they were having.

That's what happens when you invite yourself to dinner in the G+F house. You get what I want to eat.

It's the simplest recipe and I'm sure works well with any white-fleshed fish. The marinade permeates completely, leaving a sweet, tangy, and flaky filet. Add a side of sautéed greens and a some roasted cauliflower: it's a gourmet meal.

In less time than it'll take to finish the first round of beers.

Honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar in equal measure, and a garlic clove. 25 minutes in the marinade, 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees, and that's it.

Really.

Easy peasy.

Chopped-Style Meal

About a month ago, I got the urge to host another Chopped dinner. Unfortunately I knew I wasn't going to be home much to actually host four people at my house (case in point, it's taken a month to actually make the meal). Instead I asked the Facebook fans to suggest four ingredients that I would then use to make myself dinner one of these days.

They did not go easy on me.

The winning ingredients were sweet potato, truffle oil, bok choy, and kohlrabi (winning = first four people to respond). Except for the truffle oil, none of those ingredients had ever seen the inside of my kitchen. I've eaten sweet potato and bok choy, sure...but what the hell is kohlrabi???

I had no idea what to do.

After a month of contemplating (and learning all the different ways to use that weird turnip-looking vegetable up there on the upper right corner of the plate) I decided to roast everything, stuff them into lasagna rolls, and drizzle with truffle oil. Because all vegetables taste better roasted. In pasta. With truffle oil.

(Yes, roasting is a bit of a cop out. So what? I had to make it tasty so I'd actually eat it.)

Off I went to shop. The fancy-schmancy organic produce store didn't have kohlrabi, but the cheap produce store did (weird). And the sweet potatoes were next to the yams—they're not the same thing.

White-fleshed sweet potatoes are on the left and the yams are on the right.

But when I got back home, I couldn't bring myself to roast the beautiful baby bok choy. Sure, that's a thing you can do, but they were so fresh, I opted to blanch them to retain the color.

So pretty.

I needed a sauce for this, and realized I didn't have anything resembling pasta sauce in the house. I had even planned to make a pineapple truffle oil topping...but somehow completely forgot about my favorite ingredient in my last minute panic. I would have been "chopped" for sure had this been a real competition. I improvised with some tomato paste and chipotle. Spicy!

The final dish: 

Lessons learned: the kohlrabi took much longer to roast than the sweet potatoes. But since I mixed them together on the same pan, I couldn't separate them out. Note for next time. Also, kohlrabi is not my favorite vegetable. Even roasted it wasn't yummy. However, it did add a bit of texture to the roll-ups. Two of each of the veggies made enough for 6 pasta rolls and a LOT of leftover stuffing. I ended up serving this to two different people (like I'm going to eat 6 of those by myself, that's suicide by carbs!), both of whom claimed to like it. I think they were just being nice.

The verdict: I probably won't be making it again. I appreciate the G+F fans' tripping me up with unusual ingredients. And for the education I received regarding kohlrabi. But I really didn't care for it. However, it was fun to try something completely new. Maybe this will become a monthly experiment!

If you want to try your hand at it, enjoy the recipe!

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Roasted Sweet Potato & Kohlrabi Lasagna Rolls

by Paulette Fontanez April-19-2012

Roast the vegetables, roll into pasta, and enjoy.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium sweet potatoes (white flesh variety)
• 2 medium kohlrabies
• 12 strips of lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 can tomato sauce, or any sauce you like (chunky salsa might spice it up nicely)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Chop the vegetables into 1-inch chunks, drizzle with olive oil, and roast for about 30 minutes or until just beginning to brown. (The kohlrabi might take longer, so you may want to use 2 pans.) Allow to cool a bit. Leave the oven on.2. Mix the vegetables with the cheese and egg until well combined.3. Evenly spread each noodle with 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture and roll up, starting at the short end.4. Place roll-ups in baking dish, top with your choice of sauce, and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Details

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 12 rolls

Adventures in Cheesemaking: Mozzarella

I'M A CHEESEMAKER!! Yes, I made the cheese in that picture. That delicious, mozzarella cheese. With my own two hands.

And yes, I write about cheese a lot. I love cheese! At least I can admit to my addiction. Especially goat cheese. Mmmmm.

If I only had a goat to keep at home, I'd never have to buy cheese again. But I don't have room, or the desire to tend to a farm animal, so I buy the milk and make what I can.

I've done this before with paneer, which is a near-identical process to making ricotta. True, you make them with cow's milk and not goat's milk, but I take what I can get.

And when I found this incredible step-by-step picture tutorial, I couldn't wait to make mozzarella.

All you need is a gallon of milk, citric acid, liquid rennet, and salt. I found both the acid and rennet at Full O' Life in Burbank (and also ran into Heather Sinn from Ink Master, which was...strange) for about $15 total (and only used a teeny bit of each). So for a grand total of approximately $4, I made about a pound of fresh mozzarella.

It took a little longer than 30 minutes to make, but far less than 30 minutes to devour.

The tutorial is truly awesome, but after going through the process, I have a few suggestions:

1. Do NOT forget the gloves. I did it with bare hands and HOT DAMN. There was much cursing.
2. Using a two-piece pasta cooker, the kind with a removable insert, would prove helpful when trying to drain the whey. It's easier to lift the curds out than scoop them up with a slotted spoon.
3. Double the recipe. That cheese disappears quickly!
4. Eat it all. Don't share. It's really that good.
5. Don't blame me when you get fat on homemade cheese. I'm just the messenger.
6. Do it now. Don't wait. You can have fresh hot cheese within the hour! What are you waiting for?

Andrew Wilder's tutorial.

Crustless Smoked Oyster & Silver Beet Quiche

Know what a silver beet is? It sounds magical, but really it's what Swiss chard is called in Australia (in Germany it's mangold). Know what the difference between Swiss chard and regular chard is? According to Wikipedia: nothing. We just like to call the same things different words.

A quick email to my Australian friend confirmed they are indeed the same thing, though she added, "People commonly think silver beet is spinach. But it’s not."

So it's NOT spinach, got that? Back to our friendly internet resource, Wikipedia claims the "Swiss" part was added precisely to differentiate the greens from French spinach in 19th century seed catalogs. That was back before the internet could help sort it all out. You had to eat it, and if your teeth felt fuzzy, you knew it was spinach.

Swiss chard, mangold, regular chard, spinach...I'll call it silver beet because that sounds neato. And also because I like chard but I hate beets, so hopefully this will help me get over my aversion.

Silver beets. Yum.

My silver beets didn't have red stalks. How do you tell the difference between red chard and just plain rhubarb? Rhubarb is a fruit used in pies and red chard is like spinach with red veins. There you go.

This began as a simple spinach quiche. I used to make it a lot back in the day before I actually knew how to "cook." Instead of the cheddar I would normally use, I threw in the leftover smoked oyster dip from last week and voila! More protein. With the superfood chard, eggs, and oysters, this is probably the most protein-charged meal I've made recently. Or ever.

Probably ever.

Since the cheese in the dip is so very salty/sour, the taste is quite different from a regular quiche. It's also more oyster-y. But it's good for you. Might turn you into a super-hero.*

Douse this with some salsa colorada and say ahhh!

*claim unproven

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Crustless Smoked Oyster & Silver Beet Quiche

by Paulette Fontanez April-12-2012

A fusion of a smoked oyster dip and spinach-like chard in an eggy pie.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups silver beet leaves
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups smoked oyster dip

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan.2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions until they are soft, just before they start to brown. Then stir in silver beet and continue cooking until bright green. Remove from heat.3. In a bowl, combine the eggs with the smoked oyster dip. Add the silver beet/onion mixture and ensure it's evenly mixed together. Spread mixture into greased pie pan, evenly.4. Bake until top is slightly brown, about 30-40 minutes. Eggs should be set and a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 50 mins Yields: 1 9" pie

Bacon Whiskey Milkshake

This experiment started just before St. Patrick's Day, when I found a home recipe for the infamous McDonald's Shamrock Shake. I made it, switching out Oreos for Thin Mints (it was Girl Scout cookie season, after all). Then I drank it and immediately remembered that I don't like Thin Mints, or mint chocolate chip ice cream. But I do like whiskey.

And bacon.

So I tried again, this time adding a whiskey caramel sauce. A bacon-infused whiskey caramel sauce.

Because there is ALWAYS bacon scotch on hand in this house...until there wasn't! Turns out I'd used it all in the doomed Thin Mint Shake and hadn't replaced it. So I ran to the store for some good ol' fashioned Kentucky bourbon and made me up some more. 

And decided that, while I was at it, might as well switch up the ice cream from plain vanilla to something less bland. Something like pralines and cream ice cream. Because pralines and bourbon marry so nicely. They're both southern comforts.

And got it right. So very right. The whiskey caramel recipe came from Hispanic Kitchen. I'm going to need to try the Coconut Upside Down Cake it's paired with. Mmm, coconut. Also, whiskey + bacon + caramel = mmmm.

The whole recipe yields about 4 large/6 smaller shakes. But if you want to make a single serving, simply take two large scoops of ice cream mixed with 1-4 ounces of milk (depending how thick you want it) and add a shot of whiskey. Drink.

If you're making this for kids, simply omit the whiskey and make up the missing liquid in milk. Simple virgin milkshakes! That you can still top with whipped cream and bacon.

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Bacon Whiskey Milkshake

by Paulette Fontanez April-10-2012

Play with the ratio of milk to whiskey depending on how thick you like your shakes. For super potent shakes, omit the milk and use a 1/2 cup of whiskey instead.

Ingredients

• 1 48-ounce container of pralines & cream ice cream
• 1/4 cup bacon-infused whiskey
• 1/4 cup milk
• whipped cream
• whiskey caramel sauce
• crumbled bacon

Instructions

1. Blend the ice cream and whiskey/milk together until smooth.2. Pour into glasses, topping with whipped cream, caramel sauce and crumbled bacon.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Roasted Garlic & Butternut Squash Ginger Soup

There's little I love more than roasted garlic. I can eat it straight out of the oven, burning my tongue because I'm so impatient. So when I had a butternut squash to cook, and I found A Bushel of What's roasted squash soup with roasted garlic, I knew that was what I'd be making. It's roasty goodness all together.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Soup
from A Bushel of What

The picture on that page alone was enough to make me salivate. I wish I'd taken it. Mmm, roastiness.

Roasted vegetables are usually a cool weather comfort food. But the weather in Los Angeles has been really strange. We've had spring-like temps all winter, and then really cold rains as spring finally approaches. Roasted vegetables are perfect for those weird days.

And while the pictures on Nicole's site are beautiful, I didn't really follow her recipe. I wanted my roasted squash and garlic mixed together, but I also wanted something else. Something zingy.

Looking around my kitchen for inspiration, I spied the candied ginger. And then it all came together. Adding freshly zested ginger gave a nice bite to it. Exactly what my roasted concoction needed.

Later, when shooting the pictures, the soup-scape was a bit too bland (yes, I did just make up the word "soup-scape"). That's when the candied ginger came back into play for its cameo. And then I began dipping it in the soup like it was a party dip. And couldn't stop. The sweet butternut squash and peppery candied ginger came together so nicely.

If fresh ginger isn't available, add a tablespoon or so of powdered ginger. Either way, it brought a nice zing to the soup.

And to your mouth. Mmmm, zingy!

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Roasted Garlic & Butternut Squash Ginger Soup

by Paulette Fontanez April-10-2012

Roasted vegetables make a savory soup, the addition of ginger adds a nice zip!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1 whole head of garlic
• 1 large shallot, or 2 small, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (about 1 inch)
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock (depending on your preference)
• salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degreees. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle each half with about one tablespoon of oil each. Lie face down on a lined baking sheet.2. Peel away the outer layers of the garlic skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Slice the top 1/2 inch of the head to expose the individual cloves. Place in foil, drizzle with just a bit of olive oil on the garlic and wrap the foil around the head. Place on the baking sheet with the squash. 3. Bake both the squash and garlic together for about 45-60 minutes. When the squash skin begins to wrinkle and the edges brown, they're done (and so is the garlic, most likely). Allow to cool.4. Heat the remaining oil in a pan and sauté the shallots and ginger zest over medium heat until the shallots are softened and just beginning to take on color. Remove from heat.5. Once the squash has cooled, remove the skin (should come off fairly easily) and cube. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of the bulb. Put the squash, garlic, and sautéed ginger and shallots in a blender with about 2 cups of stock (do this in batches if necessary, or use an immersion blender). Add more or less stock if you prefer a thin or thick soup.6. Warm soup in a pot if necessary and add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with your favorite topping (cream or candied ginger are two excellent options) and serve hot or cold. This is even tastier the next day, after the flavors have married overnight.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Yield: About 6 cups