Haute Cuisine 1.13

This week's menu is butternut squash soup courtesy of Gourmet.com, and the rest of the kiwi and melon.  There was enough fruit left to make me 4 days of lunch - plenty of soup for four days and more.  I think one of these days I will be able to bum lunch off of Kaiser - most likely Thursday since there is a strike and they are feeding everyone so that people won't have to risk crossing a picket line, if there is one.  Here are the dishes...

Honeydew and Kiwi fruit salad with Mint flakes

(self-explanatory)

Butternut Squash Soup

• 4 large shallots, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 1 (15-oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 3 large thyme sprigs
• 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into (1-inch) cubes (about 31/2 cups)
• 5 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• Chopped walnuts

• ACCOMPANIMENT: 

  softly whipped cream - optional

• Cook shallots, carrot, celery, tomatoes, thyme, and bay leaf in oil in a 4- to 5-qt heavy pot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes.
• Add squash, water, nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper and simmer, covered, until squash is very tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard thyme and bay leaf.
• Purée soup in batches in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Thin soup if desired and season with salt and pepper.

Instead of using chestnuts (couldn't find any) I ended up using walnuts as a garnish and nutmeg as a garnish as well.  Turned out nice to me.