Ingredients
Method
- Heat olive oil in a 5-quart stockpot heat over medium-high heat.
- Add the carrot, celery, shallot, bacon, sauté for 3-4 minutes.
- Add cognac, reduce.
- Add grilled corn, grilled red pepper, roasted garlic, adobo sauce, chicken stock, and thyme, bring to boil.
- Lower heat and let simmer for 20-minutes.
- Add Butternut squash simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Let cook until all vegetables are soft.
- Remove thyme stems.
- Puree in a food processor in small batches.
- Add puree back into the stockpot.
- Add Mexican Crema.
- Garnish with fresh thyme and diced grilled red pepper and crema.
- Note: Partially frozen bacon is much easier to dice
Baking Butternut Squash
- Bake squash ahead of time. This can be done a day ahead.
- Cut ends off butternut squash creating a flat surface for safe cutting.
- Stand squash up-right, then cut in half.
- Lay squash in baking pan, cut sides down.
- Fill a baking pan with about 1/4-inch water—
- Bake squash at 350 F. Until soft.
- Let cool.
- Scoop out and discard seeds.
- Scoop out squash with a large spoon or ice cream scoop, reserve in a bowl.
Notes
Note: Preparing the squash, grilling the corn, cutting it off the cob, and roasting the red pepper ahead is a time saver.