Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Bisque with Smoked Applewood Bacon

I tried out for the show 'Master Chef' this past October in New York City. One of my fellow contestants made a pumpkin soup with applewood bacon. He made it to the next round, but sadly I did not. This is my rendition of his soup. I made it my own by using butternut squash and sweet potato and made it richer by turning this into a bisque. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Please share your comments. For less-fat option substitute half-and-half with milk or nonfat half-and-half.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 30 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins
• Calories: 282 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 ½ cups half-and-half
• 8 slices applewood-smoked bacon
• 1 ½ quarts chicken stock
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 (2 pound) butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Step 2

Combine squash, sweet potatoes, olive oil, salt, and pepper together in a bowl; toss to coat. Pour out onto a baking sheet.

Step 3

Bake in the preheated oven, flipping the vegetables once, until slightly caramelized and tender, about 60 minutes.

Step 4

Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until slightly crisp, 7 to 10 minutes. Reserve 1 tablespoon bacon drippings. Drain the bacon slices on paper towels; crumble bacon.

Step 5

Heat bacon drippings and butter together in Dutch oven over medium heat. Saute onion and butter in hot butter mixture until onion is translucent, 7 to 10 minutes.

Step 6

Pour the white wine into the pan and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook until white wine is reduced by half, 3 to 5 minutes.

Step 7

Stir roasted squash mixture into onion mixture; add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until all vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

Step 8

Pour vegetable mixture into a blender no more than half full. Cover and hold lid down; pulse a few times before leaving on to blend. Puree in batches until smooth. Return pureed soup to Dutch oven.

Step 9

Stir half-and-half into pureed soup; cook and stir over medium-low heat until soup is warmed through, about 5 minutes. Stir nutmeg into soup; season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and top each with crumbled bacon.