SOUPA CAMILLA
7 November 2005
Olema Inn General Manager, Dee Wagner, chats to Prince Charles as he and Camilla sample organic squash soup. Olema Inn Chef, Ed Vigil creator of this Marin speciality, looks on with pride.
CAMILLA amazed onlookers as she scoffed her way round a US farmers' market at the weekend.
The hungry duchess tucked into loads of goodies and glugged down beer at the organic stalls.
On her debut American visit with Prince Charles she ignored normal royal protocol of not being snapped with your mouth full.
Instead she and Charles wolfed everything from butternut squash soup and organic cheese to honey ginger smoked wild salmon.
Charles and Camilla both loved the soup. Charles told Dee Wagner, manager of the nearby Olema Inn that it was "Fabulous!".
As Camilla grabbed an apple, one TV commentator said: "Hey, did you see that? - she didn't even offer to pay."
Eventually a stallholder in the California town of Point Reyes Station stopped her just as she was about to bite into a sour, unripe Japanese fruit.
Country girl Camilla joked: "I'm eating my way around here. Luckily, I've got a good appetite."
The Royal Autumn Stew Recipe
12 servings
Ingredients:
1 Kabocha Squash
1 large Butternut Squash
1 Sugar Pie Pumpkin
2 Delacotta Squash
2 Red Onions diced
2 White Onions diced
2 Heads of Fennel diced
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
3 Carrots diced
4 Stalks of Celery diced
2 pints of heavy whipping cream
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoons of butter
Quart 1/2 of water
2 cups of fresh mixed shelling beans
3 tablespoons herbs de provence
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground caraway
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of 50 year old sherry vinegar
1/3 cup of Red Dubbonet
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Method
Peel, seed, clean small dice all squash (nothing bigger than 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch)
Take half of cubed squash, place in bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Place on sheet pan and put in oven at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Looking for
soft texture, golden around edges.
Large stock pot (4 quart) melt two tablespoons of butter with 2 tablespoons of olive oil when hot add onions, carrots, fennel, celery, garlic cook until soft and caramelized. Add Dubonnet and reduce until almost dry. Add one quart of water to stock pot. Bring to boil. Add cooked squash to pot. Add 1 pint of heavy cream. Simmer for 40 minutes. Stir often it will stick!
Put Small batches of hot soup in blender and process. When all of soup has been blended pour back into pot( do not wash pot)
Add fresh beans, remainder of chopped squash, all spices and season with salt and pepper.
Let simmer for 2 hours on low heat, should never come close to boiling. Stir constantly.
Last half of hour of cooking time add pint of heavy cream and sherry vinegar, taste for seasoning. If the soup starts to thicken too much add water. You'll know the soup is done with the beans are soft.
Can garnish with wedge of soft cowgirl creamery cheese.
