KC wrote:

What is miso stir? Is that a typo?

posted on April 23, 2008 at 8:19 PM

Nesreen Lange wrote:

No wonder he freakin' won with this recipe, look how hard it is! I came online to get it and make the soup, b/c it looked SO YUMMY, but no way I can make this!

posted on April 24, 2008 at 5:17 AM

Carmen wrote:

Hmmm It looked easy enough on t.v. lol and I thought I could cook. I love chanllenging recipies but reading this made my head spin.

posted on April 24, 2008 at 8:29 AM

Maribel wrote:

The soup look so Yummy. I just have a question on the recipe. I see that there is the use of the term Sweat. Do you mean steam or simmer?? I need to unsderstand what is means by sweat if I am going to make this recipe. Help I am confuse!!

posted on April 24, 2008 at 10:20 AM

Shari wrote:

I think I will make but I will use a blender, Buy good vegetable stock, & roast the veggies a day ahead, then I will make only 2 servings instead of 8 all of this should cut the work & time down alot :)
Yum!!!!

posted on April 24, 2008 at 10:34 AM

Meg wrote:

I am so excited to get this recipe! These two guys put so much effort into this soup to make it perfect and I am so thrilled to make it at home. Padma even said she would lick her bowl, so that tells me that it must be outta this world. Thanks guys! YUMMM!

posted on April 24, 2008 at 2:07 PM

Anamaria wrote:

To sweat the mirepoix means to basically saute them until they are clear translucent and/or soft.. ;)

posted on April 25, 2008 at 11:10 AM

Susan wrote:

To answer your question Maribel to sweat is to cook it until translucent. Many times onions and leeks are sweat or cooked until clear but not at high heat. I hope that helps.

posted on April 26, 2008 at 1:20 PM

Jan wrote:

To answer Maribel's question about what it means to sweat veggies:
You slowly cook diced or chopped veggies in a bit of oil/butter just until it translucent/soft. Use slow heat. Adding a bit of salt will help draw out moisture from the onions. Don't cook them so long the onions carmelize. Sweating the veggies will help release the flavor, but do not allow them to brown. It helps to keep the heat low and place the lid on the pan so that the steam also helps the sweating process.

posted on April 26, 2008 at 5:45 PM

Lisa wrote:

This looks delicious -- I've been looking forward to it ever since Spike wanted to make soup a couple of episodes ago. I agree with Shari, that making it over the course of a couple of days will cut down on a lot of the prep.

I think that the recipe is calling for miso 'paste' not 'stir', or at least that's what I'm going to use in it. And I'll sweat the mirepoix by melting the butter over low heat, adding the veggies and cooking slowly, covered, until the veggies are very soft but not browned.

posted on April 27, 2008 at 4:24 PM

Dannie wrote:

Miso stir is just a couple of tablespoons of miso paste stirred into a couple of tablespoons of hot broth (sort of like a slurry you'd make with corn starch).

posted on April 28, 2008 at 12:22 PM

Mary wrote:

I just made this and had the first wonderful bowl. It is delicious. I made it pretty much exactly as written, except as follows: I halved it to make it more manageable, I used a blender and then a cheese cloth, I added a bit more honey than called for and about a Tablespoon of sugar at the very end when tasting and adding more cayenne, etc. The soup ended up with very complex flavors--sweet and squashy with a kick at the end. My kitchen is a huge mess, but it is sooo good! Oh, for the miso--I used about a T of miso paste and stirred in 1/4 C of hot broth to make a slurry, then added to the soup. Thanks for the great recipe!

posted on April 28, 2008 at 7:46 PM

Becky wrote:

What does mirepoix mean? I would love to make this soup, but agree that I would buy veggie stock instead.

posted on April 28, 2008 at 9:18 PM

Jake wrote:

How long do you roast the squashes for at 350 degrees? About a hour?

posted on April 30, 2008 at 1:14 AM

leilani wrote:

Hmmm. What happened to the bacon Chef Tom said he could taste in the background of this soup?

posted on April 30, 2008 at 7:16 PM

candy wrote:

I just made this tonight. It really is not that complicated and makes a lot so it can be frozen. I started by rosating the squash and that took about an hour. Then I made the mirepoix. This is a very important element to the soup. You need to make this and let it simmer on low while you make the vegetable stock. After that, simply take a big pot, add a little stock, add your squash, then add the mirepoix. I used a hand-held mixer and blended the soup right in the pot. I added a little more salt at the end and the only ingredients I left out was the honey, though I really don't feel it needed it, and the miso. I could not find the miso so to get the asian flavor I added a little sesame oil at the end. This soup is so delicious. Well worth taking the time to make. I also did not use the vanilla creme fraiche. I felt it was very good with a little sour cream. This is the first time that I understood and was able to taste the "layers" of flavor. I think the smoky bacon flavor comes from the cayenne and the leeks. Make this! You won't be sorry.

posted on May 10, 2008 at 8:06 PM

Dan wrote:

A little extra advice for those going to make this soup: make your own veggie stock. The vegetable stock is the foundation for soup and a good stock will make or break this or any other soup you make. Many of the store bought vegetable stocks taste funky so if you are going to use one, make sure you taste it before using. The one in this recipe seems pretty standard, but you may want to do an online search to get a more detailed, step by step instruction.

posted on May 17, 2008 at 4:26 PM

Dan wrote:

Also, creme fraiche can be difficult to find in your local grocery store. It can be made at home very easily by doing the following: Mix 1 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup buttermilk, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a container and cover. Let it sit at room temp for about 6-8 hours then refrigerate.

posted on May 17, 2008 at 4:30 PM

michelle wrote:

i to just made a mess in my kitchen preparing this soup and by golly it was great!!! i didn't have any miso stir and it came out great, later on i will prepare the crme fraiche and really enjoy my soup. i didn't fix as the following for it would be entirely too much. thank you TOP CHEF!!!

posted on May 27, 2008 at 3:51 PM

Pam wrote:

this is a delicious soup, but very hands on! Maybe two pros can prepare it in 90 minutes, but it took me hours! I'd do it over a couple of days next time--and there will be a next time, as it was a huge success. I think I'll also make a more complex veggie stock as the one featured here was pretty basic and I think lacked some flavor. If this is for 8 people, they must be starving. Overall, amazing!

posted on May 30, 2008 at 11:30 AM