Isabelle's Painted Sky

info

• About 20 minutes of prep time
• about 1 hour of roasting time
• 4 servings

ingredients

• 4 tbs good olive oil
• 4 pinches of sea salt
• 4 pinches of black pepper
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped herbs de Provence
• a sprig of fresh sage
• a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice
• a sprinkle of curry powder
• 1” knob of ginger
• 1 large shallot, diced
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 3 cups of cherry tomatoes
• 2 large delicata squash
• 4 red sweet peppers
• 2 red hot peppers
• a splash of water
• 2 tbs of butter
• a splash of heavy cream
• bread to serve

steps

1. preheat the oven to 400ºF
2. prep the delicata squash and all peppers by cutting them in half and removing the seeds/stems from the peppers and chop the delicata into quarters (keeping the seeds in), toss with olive oil and salt & pepper, then situate in a large baking tray to steam bake covered with tin foil until fork tender
3. cut onions and toss in peeled garlic and tomatoes in a separate baking dish, toss with olive oil and salt & pepper, and bake covered with tin foil until the tomatoes have burst
4. once the delicatas in the roasting tray are forgiving, remove tin foil and allow the delicata and pepper tray to roast uncovered until they develop color
5. remove all trays of vegetables and add everything to a blender or immersion blend container and blitz until smooth
6. add water if necessary to help the blender move
7. add in spices, ginger, herbs, butter, heavy cream, and more salt and pepper to taste
8. heat a pan on the stove with olive oil and let it get to heat, then place in sage leaves individually and allow to fry until crispy
9. to serve, top soup with fried sage and it’s olive oil, and crusty bread

notes

• for peppers, I like to use jimmy nardellos or bell peppers for the sweet pepper flavor, and red jalapeños for the hot pepper flavor
• cut the delicata squash in quarters, keeping the skin and seeds intact. after the squash is roasted, it is much easier to spoon out the seeds, and the skin is easily blended with the rest of the soup contents
• steam bake the vegetables for as long as it takes for them to relax, and then optionally roast for color if you have the patience for it
• the splash of heavy cream is optional, but a little bit goes a long way to round out flavors
• make sure to include all the tomato liquid into the blender after steam baking them, this is the crucial liquid needed to help the other ingredients blend
• this soup makes a great base for other liquid based meals like a lentil curry soup, shakshoukah, or minestrone