The butternut squash soup looked absolutely glorious, a shimmering bright orange pool centered with a white dollop of crème fraîche, a swirl of olive oil and a handful of toasted pepitas.
And although it seemed hardly possible, the taste was even better than it looked.
I think I know the secret. I think the chef not only used cream in his soup, he used a cream base.
We were on our way to a funeral – and I’m somewhat concerned that so many of my stories now start with “We were on our way to a funeral.” Along the way we stopped at one of my favorite restaurants, which I’ll refrain from naming here because, frankly, I’ve mentioned it so many times that people are starting to wonder if I’m paid by them (I I’m not).
I had the Philly cheesesteak sandwich – which, by the way, was simply fabulous: New York ribeye shavings and strips, with a cheese and beer sauce and served on a fresh bun . My wife had a very simple salad and butternut squash soup.
The butternut squash soup looked absolutely glorious, as I said, and tasted better than it looked.
A common restaurant tip when making soup is to add cream. Cream instantly makes any vegetable soup taste richer and more satisfying. You feel like you’re getting more bang for your buck when the soup has cream, and the chef can bask in your praise and repeat business.
Cream is also a natural and almost necessary accompaniment to certain types of soups. The combination of mushrooms and cream is one of the happiest romances known to man, and asparagus and celery root cry with happiness every time they are added to the cream.
And butternut squash too. Other squashes also pair well with cream, including pumpkin, but butternut squash with its sweet caramel notes pairs best.
If you like, you can simply simmer pieces of butternut squash in chicken or vegetable broth until tender, mix everything together, then add cream (be careful though. Sister-in-law made butternut squash for Thanksgiving and ended up with three stitches on my finger).
It would be pretty good and you would impress your family and friends. Some restaurants just add cream and call it a day.
But not the very good ones. The best restaurants use a cream base.
A cream base gives more flavor to the cream, which complements, deepens and enriches the taste of the soup.
The secret is the aromatics. Herbs and wines. And chicken (or vegetable) broth. It’s much more than just a cream.
Start by browning the sliced onion and chopped shallots in oil or better yet, in butter. When they are translucent, add a little white wine and reduce until almost dry. Then add a cup of chicken stock or vegetable stock and reduce it until almost dry. Only then pour in the cream.
Cook until the mixture is reduced by a quarter. This is your cream base.
Cook your butternut squash soup, or your mushroom soup, or your celeriac soup, or your asparagus soup as you normally would. But instead of adding cream at the end, add the cream base, as much as the recipe calls for.
You will be amazed at the difference it will make. Your soup will taste as good as it looks.
Maybe better.
