Squash Soup
Yield: 4 servings
Portion Size: 6 ounces
Ingredients:
2 lbs. Delicata Squash
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1Fennel, medium dice
1Onion, medium dice
2 Shallots, medium dice
2 Leeks, medium dice
4 Cloves garlic, sliced
2 Tbsp. Ras el Hanout
2 oz. Honey
1 cup Milk
1 qt. Vegetable or Chicken Stock
¼ lb. Butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
1. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Lightly coat with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until tender
2. Allow the squash to cool a little and scrape out the meat.
3. Sweat shallots, onion, fennel, leeks and garlic in 2 tablespoons of the butter. Sweat for two minutes add Ras el Hanout and sweat for an additional minute
4. Add stock, milk, squash and honey and bring to a boil.
5. Simmer soup for twenty to thirty minutes
6. Puree soup in a blender to a smooth consistency adding the remaining butter a little at a time
7. Season and pass though a chinois
8. Divide into four bowls and garnish
*Note: do not fill the blender more than half way and always start on a low speed before blending on high when blending hot items.
About Rick Edge, Executive Chef, PlumpJack Cafe:
Born and raised in the heart of California's San Benito County, Edge never imagined himself as a chef. While working as a waiter in a small local restaurant, Edge was taken with the energy and excitement of working in the food service industry. As a person always looking for new experiences, he quit his job as a waiter and took a position as a short order cook at a breakfast-lunch café. As the lunch rush started, Edge knew that the kitchen was where he belonged, and he soon enrolled himself at the California Culinary Academy. Edge's impressive culinary career began at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel's Silks restaurant in San Francisco, working with Chef Ken Oringer, who quickly became a mentor. In 1997, Chef Oringer offered Edge a position of opening sous chef for his restaurant Clio in Boston. Edge spent five years under the tutelage of Chef Oringer, continuing to learn about flavors, techniques and restaurant organization, before heading to New York to work with Chef Laurent Gras at Peacock Alley in the famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
After honing his culinary skills in New York, Edge returned home to California to take a position as sous chef at San Francisco's renowned Aqua restaurant working along-side Chef Michael Mina. In 2001, Edge's next venture took him to the award-winning Pacific Edge restaurant at the Highlands Inn, Park Hyatt Carmel, and in 2004 joined the Pebble Beach Company as chef de cuisine for Club XIX, where he received numerous accolades from publications such as Zagat, Bon Appetite and Cigar Aficionado for his contemporary American cuisine and its French influence.
Edge received his associate degree in culinary arts from the California Culinary Academy, and is a certified culinary instructor in the state of Californian. He currently resides in San Francisco.
PlumpJack Cafe
3127 Fillomore Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
415-353-5639
Website: www.plumpjack.com
