Chayote Squash & Roasted Pepper Soup

Photo: The Duo Dishes

Ingredients

Roasted Pepper Soup

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

7 ounces stock (chicken or vegetable)

8 ounces water

1/2 onion, chopped

4 scallions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 bell peppers (orange or red)

Olive oil

Salt

Chayote Squash Soup

3 chayote squash (also called mirlitons), peeled, deseeded and chopped

4 scallions, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 ounces milk

1/2 serrano chile, deseeded and minced

14 ounces stock (chicken or vegetable)

8 ounces water

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons Kosher salt

Olive oil

Preparation

Roasted Pepper Soup

Place peppers on top rack of oven and roast for 50-60 minutes at 450 degrees or until blackened and soft. (Layer foil on the rack below to keep clean up easy.)

Put peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit and steam until cool enough to hold. Peel, destem and deseed. Save juice and pepper pulp in the bowl.

In a medium sized pot, swirl olive oil in the bottom and cook down celery, carrots, scallions, onions and garlic until soft.

Add stock and water to the pot of vegetables and stir.

Carefully pour veggies into a blender. Starting at a low speed, blend until chunks begin to disappear. Drop in roasted pepper pieces one by one. Blend until soup reaches desired consistency.* Salt to taste.

Pour back into pot and simmer on low heat.

Add more stock if it’s too thick.

Chayote Squash Soup

In a heavy pot, sweat scallions, onions and garlic in olive oil until tender.

Add squash, water and stock and allow to boil until squash is tender, approximately 20 minutes.

Add milk, cornstarch, cumin and serrano chiles. Stir until incorporated.

Carefully pour hot liquid into a blender and blend until chunks break up. Drop in parsley, cilantro and salt and continue blending until desired consistency is reached.* Add more salt if desired.

Add more milk (make sure it’s fairly warm) or chicken stock if you prefer it thinner.

Now the fun part! The zen-like part! Using two heavy spoons, ladle the red pepper soup in one and the chayote in the other. Pour into a wide bowl simultaneously. This will take some practice if you want to get a perfect yin yang. What you see in our bowl is not evidence of perfection, but we’ll work on our ladle skills another time. Use a toothpick, or your finger if so inclined, to create other fun patterns. Pipe on a bit of sour cream or crème fraîche if you’re really feeling feisty!