Today’s featured Chef recipe is provided by the girl & the fig located in Sonoma, California.  Executive Chef John Toulze provides a seasonal menu inspired by Provençal cuisine and mixed with an abundance of fresh vegetables and culinary creativity! 

The girl & the fig’s “Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Compote” is one of proprietor Sondra Bernstein’s personal favorites for winter soups.  As she says, “Butternut squash is loaded with flavor and when roasted the flavors deepen.  The curry powder will give the soup a splash of surprise and the apple compote will add some sweet essence and textures”.  The soup pairs wonderfully with Marsanne wine.

For variations on the soup, Chef Toulze suggests substituting crumbled blue cheese in place of the Apple Compote.  Combined with blue cheese, this delicious soup will have a richer and even more robust flavor.

Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Compote

Serves 6

• 3 pounds butternut squash, cut lengthwise and seeded
• ¼ cup blended oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  salt/pepper
• ½ tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 apple, peeled, cored, chopped
• 2 tablespoons + 4 tablespoons chilled butter
• 3 cups Chicken Stock
  Pinch of curry powder
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Apple Compote, below

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Place squash cut side up in an ovenproof pan. Drizzle with oil and brown sugar.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bake until squash is tender and golden brown, about 45 minutes. In a soup pot, sauté onion and apple with 2 tablespoons of butter until it is translucent.  Using large spoon, scrape squash into soup pot with onions and apples. Discard peel. Add 3 cups chicken stock and curry powder.  Simmer for 10 minutes. Mix in cream and lemon juice.  Add mixture into a processor or blender.  Puree until smooth.  Finish by whisking in 4 tablespoons of chilled butter.   Stir soup over medium heat until heated through.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Apple Compote

Yields: 2 cups

• 2 apples, Fuji, diced
• 2 tablespoons + ¼ cup lime juice
• ¼ cup dried apricots, quartered
• ¼ cup dried cherries
• ½ cup Simple Syrup
• ½ cup water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• pinch nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Garnish soup with a heaping tablespoon of compote.

About the girl & the fig

Just like a plump ripe fig, their food is fresh, healthy, and bursting with flavor. The girl & the fig signature dish is a memorable salad prepared with arugula, goat cheese, pancetta, pecans, and grilled figs in season. Their imaginative native entrees feature local seafood, lamb, rabbit, and duck-all served with a wonderful array of grains, pastas, polentas, and fresh vegetables.