Elegant butternut truffle soup

By t1bishop

Flavored with mace, ginger, and brown sugar, this tangerine-hued nectar, laced with truffle oil, is a beautifully rich beginning to a meal.
It definitely sets up the palate for the tastes to come, but it is so powerful in its own right that my advice is to make the servings small-shallow bowls are ideal.

Ingredients

• 2 butternut squash (about 4 pounds)
• 8 cups Basic Chicken Broth (page 397)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 4 teaspoons light brown sugar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• to taste
• Truffle oil, for garnish
• 1/2 About 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• cheese

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

1. Halve the squash lengthwise and discard the seeds. Peel it and cut it into chunks.
2. Place the squash in a heavy soup pot and add the broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer, partial
covered, until tender, 20 to 25 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the squash to a bowl Reserve the broth.
3. Melt the butter in the olive oil in a non stick skillet over very-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 15 minutes Sprinkle with the mace and ginger and cook stirring for 1 minute more. Add the onion and the brown sugar to the squash and stir well. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Puree the squash mixture, in batches if necessary, in a food processor or blender gradually adding the reserved broth. Return the soup to
the pot and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Heat through over low heat.
5. Serve small portions of the soup in shallow bowls. Drizzle a small swirl of truffle oil over each portion, and scatter a generous pinch of Parmesan in the center of the swirl.