“Tina Ujlaki is a legendary and beloved food magazine editor who has been at Food & Wine for more than 30 years. I am lucky to call her a mentor; when she was my boss in the early 1990s, she taught me much about how to dine, not just to eat, and I’m forever grateful – especially because when I was hosting my very first dinner party she ‘lent’ me her recipe for this soup to serve as a first course. … Over the years I have made the recipe my own, as we all do with favorite recipes, and tinkered with it to please my tastes.”
4½ lbs. butternut squash, halved lengthwise
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 large leeks, white and tender green parts only, coarsely chopped
7 small sage leaves or 1 tsp. dried sage
5 cups chicken broth
1¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
½ cup sour cream
About 3 Tbsps. chopped chives
8 slices of bacon, fried crisp and chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the squash, cut side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake until tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool slightly. Using a spoon, scoop out and discard the seeds. Scrape the squash from the skin into a large nonreactive bowl and set aside.
Meanwhile, in large heavy saucepan or flameproof casserole, warm the olive oil and melt the butter over low heat. Add the leeks and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and browned, about 40 minutes. Discard the sage leaves, if using.
Stir in the broth and the squash. Increase the heat to moderate and simmer for 20 minutes. In a blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Pour the soup back into the pan and season it with the salt and pepper.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each serving with 1 tablespoon of sour cream, 1 teaspoon chopped chives, and a sprinkling of the bacon. Serves 8.
Kelly is a writer based in Chapel Hill; she has won a James Beard Award for her articles about food in Saveur magazine and is the author of The New York Times bestselling cookbook currently in its eighth printing, “Smokin’ with Myron Mixon” (Ballantine, 2011).
