Squash Soup for Sharing

THIS SOUP MAKES FRIENDS

When fall hits and the leaves begin to change in your area, make this soup and invite someone over to share. This recipe was so well received, I was texted for details the following morning and our friends made a pot to enjoy for a second night, in a row. Some call this love. I call it romance.

The recipe is a simple one, so ensure all the freshest and highest quality ingredients. I was fortunate to pick up the lardon from Marlow and Daughters in NYC, along with some beautiful squash. If you aren’t in that neighborhood, make sure to use bacon of a high quality- preferably something local from a trusted butcher, rather than packaged from the supermarket.

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SQUASH SOUP FOR SHARING

2-3 Delicata Squash, roasted tender
1 liter (~4c) Chicken Stock
1/2c Smoked Bacon Lardon, crisped for the top
1 Yellow Onion, diced
2 Shallot, one diced / one shaved for top
3 c Garlic, crushed or sliced
1 large Carrot, roughly chopped
(optional Licorice Flower if you can find,
or fennel frond would be a lovely substitute)

In the bottom of a soup pot, crisp lardon and remove to the side. Cook onion, shallot, garlic, carrot in drippings. Add broth to pot and simmer till soft. Roast squash at 450 till brown and very tender. Scoop squash from skins into pot. In a blender or with an immersion handle, blend till smooth, adding more broth or water to desired consistency. Add salt to taste. Top with shaved shallot, crisp bacon, and licorice flowers, if you can find them!