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Brown Butter-Sunchoke Soup With Bacon

Ingredients 6 tablespoons butter 2 pounds sunchokes (also sold as Jerusalem artichokes), skin-on, scrubbed, and cut into 1/2-inch disks 1 large leek, white and pale green parts only, split in half, washed and sliced into half-inch pieces 1 medium onion, finely sliced (about 1 cup) 2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons) 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh sage leaves 6 cups low-sodium homemade or store-bought chicken broth 2 bay leaves 1/4 pound bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Dash sherry or white wine vinegar 1/2 pound Brussels sprouts, split in half

Directions Swirl butter in a large Dutch oven on med-high til deep brown w/ nutty aroma, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add sunchokes and stir. Cook/stir til sunchokes are well browned on all surfaces, starting to lightly char, 10 min. Add leeks and onions; cook/stir/soften, about 5 min. Add garlic and sage and cook, stirring constantly, until aromatic, a minute. Add chicken stock and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until sunchokes are tender, about ten minutes. Discard bay leaves.

While soup simmers, cook brown and crisp, 10 min. Liftout to bowl, leaving fat in the skillet. Set aside.

Batch blender on high til smooth, about 2 minutes per batch. Strain through a fine mesh strainer if a smoother soup is desired. When all batches are pureed, s/p. Whisk in vinegar, a teaspoon at a time, until desired flavor is reached (tbl total). Keep soup warm.

Garnish----Reheat bacon fat on high til sizzling, then add a garden goody or halved brussels sprouts, cut-side-down. Cook without moving til well-charred, 3 min. Toss and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and well browned, 6 min total. Return bacon to skillet and toss to combine. S/p, and a dash of vinegar. Set aside offheat.

Serve garnished with garden goody (or brussels sprouts), bacon, drizzled with olive oil.