Butternut Squash Soup Shots With Candied Bacon Recipes

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND BACON SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray. Place butternut squash, onion, bell pepper and bacon in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil and garlic; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Gently toss to combine. Place into oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until butternut squash is tender, stirring at halftime.* Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Heat a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add butternut squash mixture and thyme, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in chicken stock and puree with an immersion blender. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add more chicken stock as needed until desired consistency is reached. Serve immediately, garnished with bacon, goat cheese and chives, if desired.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP SHOTS WITH CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cut squash in half lengthwise, remove seeds, and place cut side down on baking dish; add 1/2 inch of water and bake until fork tender, about 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, trim leeks, slit lengthwise and wash thoroughly.
• Rough chop the white and light green parts (save tough green tops for making stock).
• In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium low heat.
• Saute leeks for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, then add curry powder.
• Scoop out squash flesh and add to pot; pour in chicken broth, ginger, maple syrup, and salt.
• Simmer 30 minutes.
• Puree the soup using an immersion blender, or a regular blender or food processor in batches.
• While soup is simmering, you can prepare the bacon.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a heavy skillet, over medium heat, cook bacon, in batches, until lightly browned, but not crisp; drain on paper toweling.
• Meanwhile, combine brown sugar, cayenne, and black pepper.
• Arrange bacon strips on a parchment or brown paper lined baking tray and coat with brown sugar mixture.
• Bake until sugar is caramelized and bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes; transfer to brown paper to cool (will stick to paper towels).
• Reheat soup, if necessary, and serve in shot glasses with 1/2 slice of bacon standing up in it - or serve in bowls as a soup course with crumbled bacon.

TWICE-BAKED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH PARMESAN CREAM AND CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut both squash in half lengthwise; scoop out seeds. Transfer cut side down to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Poke outside of skin all over with a fork, then roast until flesh is very soft, about 1 1/2 hours for large squash and about 1 hour for medium squash.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 cup cream in a medium pot over medium until just beginning to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and whisk in 1/4 cup cheese and cook, whisking, until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl and chill until very cold, about 45 minutes (do not freeze).
• Cook bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to paper towels, reserving bacon fat in skillet. Let cool, then finely chop.
• Spread 3 Tbsp. sugar in a thin layer in the center of a medium dry skillet. Cook over medium heat, mostly undisturbed (it's ok to swirl pan gently to get sugar to melt evenly), until sugar melts and starts to turn light brown, about 6 minutes. Quickly stir in bacon and hazelnuts and cook, stirring, until coated and melted sugar is chestnut brown, about 1 minute more. Scrape onto a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and spread out to cool, then finely chop.
• Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Using a spoon, scoop flesh out of large squash into a large bowl, leaving a 1/2" border around squash shell to help maintain its shape. Transfer large shells to a rimmed baking sheet; arrange a few pieces of crumpled foil around shells to keep them upright. Scoop flesh out of medium shells into same bowl (you should have 6 cups squash); discard medium shells. Using a potato masher or spatula, mix in salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1 Tbsp. reserved bacon fat, and remaining 1 cup cream, 3/4 cup cheese, and 1 Tbsp. sugar until smooth. Fold in 2 Tbsp. chives. Divide filling between large squash shells, then create attractive swoops with a spoon. Bake squash until warmed through, 20-30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed or a whisk, whip chilled cream to medium peaks. Chill until ready to use.
• Dollop squash with whipped cream, then top with candied bacon bits and remaining 1 Tbsp. chives. Serve extra candied hazelnut-bacon bits on the side.
• Do Ahead
• Squash shells can be filled (not baked) 2 days ahead; cover and chill.

SPICY ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH, PEAR, AND BACON SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Place squash in a large bowl; drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Spread the squash in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper.
• Roast squash in prepared oven for 20 minutes; turn. Continue roasting until softened, 10 to 20 minutes more.
• Place the chopped bacon into a heavy pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Reserve the bacon drippings.
• Place the pot over medium heat; add the onion, pears, garlic, rosemary, and thyme and cook in the bacon drippings until onions and pears are soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the roasted squash and cook another 5 minutes. Add Swanson® Chicken Broth, nutmeg, cinnamon, and chipotle pepper; simmer on medium-low until ingredients are very soft and flavors have combined, about 10 minutes.
• Puree the soup in a blender or food processor in small batches.
• Ladle soup into serving bowls and garnish with crumbled bacon and a generous dollop of sour cream. Enjoy!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH BACON

Steps:

• Cook and stir bacon in large saucepan on medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon, reserving bacon drippings in pan; drain bacon on paper towels. Add onions and garlic to reserved bacon drippings; cook and stir 5 min. or until crisp-tender.
• Add broth, squash and sage; stir. Bring to boil; simmer on medium-low heat 20 min. or until squash is tender, stirring occasionally. Blend, in batches, in blender until smooth, returning each puréed batch to saucepan.
• Add cream cheese; cook 3 to 5 min. or until completely melted, stirring constantly with whisk. Serve topped with bacon.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH APPLES AND BACON

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place squash in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil; mix to coat; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread squash into a single layer on a baking pan. Roast the squash in the preheated oven, turning once, until fork-tender and caramelized; 30 to 40 minutes.
• Place the bacon in a Dutch oven and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon slices to a paper towel-lined plate, reserving the drippings in the pan.
• Place the onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, curry powder, thyme, and salt and pepper in the Dutch oven; cook in reserved bacon drippings until the carrots and celery are soft. Mix in the apples and cooked squash and cook another 5 minutes. Stir the garlic into the mixture and cook another 1 minute. Pour the apple cider over the mixture; reduce heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer; allow to reduce to about half its original volume. Stir in the chicken stock; simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes.
• Puree the soup in small batches in a blender, or use an immersion blender. If using a blender, don't fill the blender more than half-way. Always remove the center lid piece of a stand blender when blending hot liquids so the steam can escape. Cover the hole with a dish towel while blending. Stir the nutmeg into the soup. Garnish each bowl with 1 tablespoon of sour cream and some of the bacon pieces to serve.