Winter AboundSoups

Chef Lee Morris shares the best of his seasonal soups

There’s nothing like a warm, steaming bowl of soup on a cold winter day.

And Chef Lee Morris at the Country Club at Muirfield Village knows what to do to warm up the members and guests of his restaurants.

Signature menu items at the club range from Tuna Carpaccio to Poached Lobster Rolls and Chicken Coq Au Vin to Braised Veal Shanks, but one part of the menu is forever in flux: the soups.

Lee’s goal is to keep everything seasonal to ensure a tasteful soup selection.

“Right now, there’s a traditional chicken noodle soup. We’ve also got a potato, bacon and corn chowder with fried leeks.” These two options fit the cold season with with the recently harvested fall corn and mixed vegetables in the chicken noodle.

For winter, Lee’s top choice for his guests is a puréed butternut squash soup.

“The spices are what really make it great,” he says. The blend contains onion, garlic, ginger, nutmeg and salt and pepper as aromatic components. He sweetens the soup with a drop of honey, too.

The chef’s favorite winter soup also is the most complicated of his winter repertoire. The squash is oven roasted and pureed with seasonal spices such as cinnamon, clove and ginger. The resulting soup is then topped off by a dollop of crème fraîche.

As a final way to create a successful meal, Lee also recommends pairing the soups with different wines for a festive feast.

“You could also try some sweeter cocktails. Different kind of bread sides or even an antipasto would work well with a lot of these.”

Tyler Davis is a contributing writer Comments and feedback welcome to dublinlife@pubgroupltd.com.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 large butternut squash (4+ pounds raw)

• 3 cups vegetable broth

• 1 large onion (chopped)

• 3 cloves garlic (minced)

• 2 tbsp. honey

• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Serves 6

• 1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger

• 1 tsp. nutmeg

• 1/8 tsp. ground clove

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• 2 tbsp. olive oil

• salt and black pepper, to taste

• crème fraîche garnish

Slice the squash in half, lengthwise. Using a spoon, core the seeds and cube the squash. Place in a roasting pan. Liberally coat with olive oil, salt and black pepper. Roast in oven for one hour or until the flesh is easily pierced with a paring knife. Remove from the oven, and let cool so it is not too hot to handle. Remove the skin and roughly chop any large portions of the remaining flesh.

In a large pot over medium heat, add 2 tbsp. of butter. Once the butter has stopped bubbling, add 2 tbsp. of olive oil.

Add the onion, cinnamon, ginger, garlic and clove. Cook until the onions are translucent and starting to lightly yellow, about 6 minutes. Add the nutmeg and stir. Cook for another 3 minutes.

Add the roasted butternut squash and stir. Let cook for about 5 minutes before stirring again. You should start to see carmelization coming on the bottom of the pan. Add the honey and let cook again for another 5 minutes.

Add about 1/2 cup of the broth and deglaze the pot. Once all those nice brown bits are up from the bottom of the pot, add the remaining broth. Bring to a boil and let cook for about 5 minutes at a low boil.

Turn off the heat and let cool for another 5 minutes.

Puree the mixture until you have a nice smooth texture. Return to heat and let simmer until you are ready to serve. Garnish by adding a dollop of crème fraîche.