Roasted Squash Soup with Cocoa Bean Cream

A great thing about "Bittersweet" is that there is an entire chapter of savoury foods using chocolate and cocoa. I love the idea, but I've had some mixed experiences about using chocolate in food before so I thought it would be really interesting to see if the recipes here would work or not.

The first dish I've tried out is "Roasted Squash Soup with Cocoa Bean Cream". This soup is made by roasting a butternut squash in the oven with some olive oil. The squash is then mixed with some stock and sage, drawing on the classic combo of pumpkin and sage. Then the twist is added, by first boiling some cocoa nibs in cream, ladling the cream on top of the soup, and then sprinkling some cocoa nibs on top as well.

This soup was divine. The flavours came together and played off one another just beautifully. The squash contributed sweetness, the sage was dry and, well, herby, the stock was salty and the cocoa nibs added bitterness and crunch. I'm really intrigued by the chocolate and sage combo. I don't think I've ever seen them together before. I've been thinking of using it again in all kinds of preparations. What about "Dark Chocolate and Sage Truffles" or "Milk Chocolate and Sage Pannacotta" or in home made ice cream? There is just an universe out there waiting to be explored!