Baked Goat Cheese with Butternut Squash Broth and Pickled Mushrooms

Recipe courtesy of chef Ana Sortun
Yield Serves 6

Ingredients
- 6 ounces soft, fresh goat cheese, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Broth (makes 8 to 10 cups)
- 1 cup of peeled butternut squash, roughly chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 dried apricots or 1/2 golden rasins
- 8 cups of water
- 1 roughly chopped leek
- 1 rib roughly chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon harissa
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Directions
1. Place butternut squash in a large soup pot and cover with water.
2. Add the leek, bay leaf, garlic, dried apricot, and celery and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the soup for about 20 minutes until the squash is tender.
3. Season the broth with salt.
4. Allow the broth to cool slightly, remove the bay leaf and blend in a blender until smooth.
5. Slowly incorporate olive oil, harissa, and vinegar.
6. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the goat cheese into a baking dish and top with broth.
7. Bake until bubbly.
8. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with pickled mushrooms and toast.

Pickled Mushrooms

Yield Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds of oyster mushrooms
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 white onion, finely minced
- 1 rib of celery finely minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1/2 bottle white wine
- 4 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- Pinch of ground clove
- 1 tablespoons tomato paste
- Pinch of saffron
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- Salt & pepper
- Chopped fresh thyme

Directions
1. Sautee the onion and celery until translucent.
2. Add garlic and saffron and sweat another minute until, you can smell the garlic.
3. Add the tomato paste, wine and clove.
4. Simmer down until the mixture is reduced by half.
5. Add mushrooms, season well and simmer for 20 minutes. Cover and turn off heat.
6. Stir in raisins.
7. Let cool to room temp.
8. Season with salt and pepper, add vinegar and fresh thyme.