Sous Vide Spiced Pear and Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut squash, pears, fresh chile and brown butter make a deep, flavorful and luscious with very little fat and even less effort. Ingredients go directly from the bag to the blender to bowl.

Author

James  Briscione

James Briscione is a renowned expert in sous vide, flavor science and modern cuisine. Among his accomplishments in the kitchen James became the first ever two-time champion of Chopped on the Food Network. He studied sous vide with Italian masters in Venice and has been teaching the sous vide cooking to chefs and home cooks alike for over 8 years. He is the author of 4 cookbooks including his most recent, written with his wife Brooke Parkhurst, The Flavor Matrix (March, ‘18) will help cooks of all levels understand the science of flavor and ingredient pairing so that they can become better and more creative cooks. You can find James in the kitchen at The Institute of Culinary Education where he is the Director of Culinary Research. Or you may spot him on your screen; James is the host of Cooking with Dad and Man Crafted both on foodnetwork.com. James also appears regularly as a judge on cooking competition shows on Food Network.

Prep Time: 00:30

Recipe Time: 01:30

Temperature : 185F / 85C

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 8 fresh sage leaves
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 4 cups diced butternut squash
• 1 pear, core removed and diced
• 1 red fresno chile, cut in half
• 12 fl oz chicken stock
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• plain whole yogurt, for garnish
• toasted pepitas, for garnish

Directions

1. Heat Anova precision cooker to 85˚C (185˚F).
2. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. When the butter begins to brown, add the sage leaves and fry until crisp. Reserve the fried sage leaves on paper towels.
3. Add the sliced shallots and garlic cloves to the butter and cook until tender. Remove from the heat and cool slightly before adding to a zip top bag.
4. Add the diced butternut squash, chopped pear, red chile and chicken stock to the bag. Press out any air and seal tightly.
5. Cook at 85˚C (185˚F) for 90 minutes.

Finishing- Puree and Season

1. Transfer contents to blender and add the juice of 1 lime and 2 teaspoons kosher salt. Puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Serve in bowls garnished with yogurt, toasted pumpkin seeds and fried sage leaves.