Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Compote Soup

from Sondra Bernstein of The Girl and the Fig

Serves 6

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INGREDIENTS:
For the Soup
3 pounds Butternut Squash, cut lengthwise and seeded
¼ cup Blended oil
1 tablespoon Brown sugar
salt/pepper
½ tablespoon Garlic, minced
1 Onion, medium chopped
1 Apple, peeled, cored, chopped
2 Tbsp + 4 Tbsp Butter, chilled
3 cups Chicken Stock
Pinch Curry powder
1 cup Heavy cream
1 tablespoon Lemon juice

For the Compote
2 Apples, Fuji, diced
2 Tbsp + ¼ cup Lime juice
¼ cup Dried apricots, quartered
¼ cup Dried cherries
½ cup Simple Syrup
½ cup Water
1 Cinnamon stick
pinch Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Mustard seeds

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PREPARATION:
For the Soup
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place squash cut side up in an ovenproof pan. Drizzle with oil and brown sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until squash is tender and golden brown, about 45 minutes.

In a soup pot, sauté onion and apple with 2 tablespoons of butter until it is translucent. Using large spoon, scrape squash into soup pot with onions and apples. Discard peel. Add 3 cups chicken stock and curry powder.
Simmer for 10 minutes. Mix in cream and lemon juice.

Add mixture into a processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Finish by whisking in 4 tablespoons of chilled butter. Stir soup over medium heat until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For the Compote
Toss apple pieces with the 2 tablespoons of lime juice in a bowl. Set aside.

Simmer apricots, cherries, simple syrup, water, the remaining lime juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and mustard seeds in a sauce pot for 10 minutes. Add apples and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Garnish soup with a heaping tablespoon of compote.

Yields 2 cups.