Smoked Butternut Squash And Tomato Soup

Difficulty:

3/5

Prep time:

15 min

Cook time:

2.5 h

Serves:

6-8

INGREDIENTS

1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
8 roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
2 jalapeno peppers, halved and seeded
1 head of garlic, top third cut off
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion, diced
1 leek, chopped
2 shallots, diced
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon horseradish
2 litres (68 OZ) chicken or vegetable stock
salt & pepper, to taste ( 2 tablespoons for basting smoked vegetables and 2 tablespoons to sauté leeks and onions )

FOR THE GARNISH

1 leek, julienned and fried

FOR THE SMOKE

1 cup soaked hickory wood chips

DIRECTIONS

Smoke squash, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers & garlic in advance. To simplify this recipe, load up the smoker with vegetables whenever you are firing it up for meat.
Light the Broil King® Keg and adjust the settings for a constant temperature of 200°F (94°C). Place 2 handfuls of soaked hickory chips on top of the coals. Replace the cooking grids. Brush the surfaces of the prepared squash, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers and garlic with olive oil. Place the tomatoes on a foil-lined tray. Layer tomatoes and other vegetables on the racks in the smoker. Smoke for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, sauté leeks, onion and shallots in 2 Tbsp olive oil for 4 minutes in a large stockpot. Add thyme, bay leaves, coriander, horseradish and stock. Set on LOW heat until smoked vegetables are ready.
When smoked vegetables are softened, remove them from the smoker. At this point, it is easy to get them out of their skins and into the stockpot! Scoop butternut squash flesh out of its skin, peel skin from tomatoes, squeeze garlic cloves out of the skin and dice jalapeno peppers. Add to stock and cook on low for 30 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Puree with an immersion blender and season with salt and pepper.
Fry the julienned leeks for 4 minutes in hot canola oil for 2-3 minutes at 330°F (166°C). These are a beautiful garnish for the soup.