Southern Comfort (14 page)

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, garlic, salt, white pepper, curry powder, bay leaf, and thyme and decrease the heat to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots and garlic are soft and translucent. Add the white wine and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the cream, stock, and squash and cook until the squash is soft, about 30 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and let the soup cool for at least 20 minutes.

Puree the soup in a blender on medium speed in two batches. Before turning on the machine, be sure the lid is tightly secured and covered with a towel to prevent the hot mixture from escaping. Puree the soup until it is nice and smooth, finishing on high speed to ensure its smoothness.

Before serving, reheat the soup in a saucepan, add the crawfish tails, and heat the soup until the crawfish tails are warm (they’re small and they heat quickly). Garnish the soup with crème fraîche and basil leaves.

To roast the squash, preheat the oven to 350°F.

With a vegetable peeler, remove the skin from the squash. Carefully cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Place the squash on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Roast the squash until it is soft and caramelized, about 30 minutes.

To make the soup, in a large soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter and then add the shallots, garlic, salt, white pepper, and spice purse. Cook until the shallots are soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and cook until the mixture is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the squash, sugar, stock, and cream. Cook until all of the flavors meld together, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the spice purse and season with the cinnamon, nutmeg, and licorice root.

Puree the soup in a blender, being careful not to overload the blender with the hot soup. (Before turning on the machine, be sure the lid is tightly secured and covered with a towel to prevent the hot mixture from escaping.)

Strain through a fine strainer and serve with
Spiced Crème Fraîche.

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.

In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a boil over high heat. Season with the salt, then drop in the broccoli florets and cook until they are soft and bright green, about 3 minutes. Immediately transfer the stock and broccoli to a blender along with the butter and white pepper. Before turning on the machine, be sure the lid is tightly secured and covered with a towel to prevent the hot mixture from escaping. Carefully blend the hot soup until it is nice and smooth.

Serve the soup immediately. If you are not serving it right away, you will need to chill the soup rapidly in a bowl set in a bowl of ice to preserve the green color.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the leek, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme and cook until the sliced leek is softened, about 1 minute. Add the turnips and white wine and cook until the white wine has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the stock, cream, white pepper, sugar, and salt and simmer until the turnips are very soft, at least 5 more minutes. Remove the bay leaf and thyme and transfer the soup to a blender along with the crème fraîche. Before turning on the machine, be sure the lid is tightly secured and covered with a towel to prevent the hot mixture from escaping. Blend the soup, until nice and smooth.

Serve immediately.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the parsnips, shallots, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, salt, sugar, and white pepper. Cook the vegetables until the shallots are soft, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes (be careful not to get much color on the parsnips). Add the stock and cook, simmering, for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and thyme. Puree the soup in a blender, in batches. Before turning on the machine, be sure the lid is tightly secured and covered with a towel to prevent the hot mixture from escaping.

Once the soup is blended, stir in the crème fraîche and serve right away.