Butternut Squash Soup with Gingerbread and Brown Butter

Butternut Squash Soup with Gingerbread and Brown Butter

I recently revisited one of my favorite cozy neighborhood gems, Firefly, and was just smitten with their Fairy Tale Pumpkin Soup with Gingerbread Crouton, Golden Sage and Brown Butter. The flavors were spot on. Roasted butternut squash pureed to a luxurious, velvety texture, seasoned with brown butter and caressed by warm sage notes. It reminded me right away of a soup I discovered awhile back in Thomas Keller's Bouchon.

BOUCHON by THOMAS KELLER (Artisan Books) Copyright 2004. (Photo Credit: Deborah Jones)

TK's Butternut Squash Soup with Brown Butter, Sage and Nutmeg Crème Fraîche had a similar weak-in-the-knees-good effect on me with its layers of rich, harmonious flavors and that ethereal silkiness. (I connected the dots when I learned that Keller influence wasn't incidental. Firefly's new chef, Henry Zamora, previously trained at the French Laundry.)

With hot soup and butternut squash season upon us, I was inspired to recreate Firefly's fanciful rendition with homemade gingerbread. The gingerbread "crouton" was less of a typical crunchy crouton and more of a deep, dark, sticky square of dense bread, so my first step was to find a great recipe for gingerbread.

Black Sticky Gingerbread

I struck spicy sweet gold with Regan Daley's (In the Sweet Kitchen) Black Sticky Gingerbread recipe.

Ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice

The fragrance of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves filled the house as the bread baked up, instantly elating my mood and prematurely transporting me to Christmas time and fireplaces.

Grandma's Molasses

Plus, the combination of dark unsulphered molasses, local sage honey, brown sugar, and plenty of butter resulted in just the kind of gingerbread I looking for. Tall, dark, and handsome (minus the tall…and ok, the handsome…but definitely deep, dark, and rich). I'm for sure tucking this recipe away for the holidays – little mini loaves would make a pretty homemade gift.

With the gingerbread under my belt, I turned to my tried and true recipe for butternut squash soup from Bouchon. My one minor change: the gingerbread was so good I wanted it to shine on its own as the only accompaniment, so I omitted Keller's nutmeg-spiked crème fraiche and fried sage leaves garnish. I did, however, definitely keep in the finishing drizzle of brown butter. Giddy-up.

Butternut Squash Soup with Gingerbread and Brown Butter

Butternut Squash Soup with Gingerbread and Brown Butter

The soup portion of this recipe is excerpted from BOUCHON by THOMAS KELLER (Artisan Books). Copyright 2004.

Serves: 6

Ingredients:
One 3- to 3 1/2-pound butternut squash
2 tablespoons canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 sage sprigs
1 cup thinly sliced (1/8 inch thick) leeks, white and light green parts only
1/2 cup thinly sliced (1/8 inch thick) carrots
1/2 cup thinly sliced (1/8 inch thick) shallots
1/2 cup thinly sliced (1/8 inch thick) onions
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 tablespoons honey
6 cups Vegetable Stock, plus extra if necessary
Bouquet Garni
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
Black Sticky Gingerbread

Preparation:

For the soup:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil.

2. Cut the neck off the squash and set it aside. Cut the bulb in half and scoop out and discard the seeds. Brush each half inside and out with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the canola oil. Sprinkle the cavities with salt and pepper and tuck a sprig of sage into each. Place cut side down on the baking sheet and roast for about 1 hour, or until completely tender.

3. Remove the squash from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle, then scoop out and reserve the flesh (discard the sage).

4. Meanwhile, using a paring knife or sharp vegetable peeler, peel away the skin from the neck of the squash until you reach the bright orange flesh. Cut the flesh into 1/2-inch pieces (these will be pureed, so don't be concerned if the pieces are irregularly shaped). (You should have approximately 4 cups diced squash.)

5. Put the remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat, add the leeks, carrots, shallots, and onions, and cook, stirring often, for about 6 minutes. Add the diced squash, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook gently for 3 minutes, reducing the heat as necessary to keep the garlic and squash from coloring. Stir in the honey and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock and bouquet garni, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the squash is tender.

6. Add the roasted squash and simmer gently for about 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Remove from the heat and discard the bouquet garni.

7. Transfer the soup to a blender, in batches, and puree. Strain the soup through a fine strainer into a bowl or other container, tapping the side of the strainer so the soup passes through. (Do not skip this step. Straining it is what gives this soup its incredible texture.) Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning. Let the soup cool, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

To complete:
1. Reheat the soup. If it is too thick, add a little more vegetable stock.

2. Heat a medium skillet over high heat. When it is very hot, add the butter and rotate the skillet over the heat as necessary to brown the butter evenly, scraping up any bits that settle in the bottom. As soon as the foaming has subsided and the butter is a hazelnut brown, pour it into the pot of soup, reserving some to drizzle on top of the soup as a garnish. (Be careful not to leave the butter over the heat too long, as it can change from rich brown to black in seconds.)

3. Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Top each with a piece of gingerbread. Drizzle the remaining brown butter over the top of each bowl.