Butternut & Sweet Potato Soup with Bacon

• Wash and dry produce.
• Heat a medium dry pot (large pot for 4 servings) over medium-high heat. Add bacon*; cook, turning occasionally and adjusting heat if browning too quickly, until crispy, 6-10 minutes. Turn off heat; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Reserve bacon fat in pot for use in Step 3.
• Once bacon is cool enough to handle, roughly chop.

• While bacon cooks, peel and dice sweet potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens. Pick sage leaves from stems; roughly chop leaves. Zest and quarter lemon (for 4 servings, zest one lemon; quarter both).

• In pot with bacon fat, melt 2 TBSP butter (4 TBSP for 4 servings) over medium-high heat. Add sweet potatoes, squash, scallion whites, half the garlic powder, 1 TBSP sage, and ⅛ tsp nutmeg (2 TBSP sage and ¼ tsp nutmeg for 4). Season with 1 tsp salt (1 ½ tsp for 4) and a big pinch of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies begin to brown, 4-5 minutes.
• Stir in 1 ¼ cups water (2 ½ cups for 4), milk, stock concentrates, Vidalia onion paste, and a pinch of salt and pepper to pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low. Cover and cook until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally, 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Stir in juice from two lemon wedges (four for 4); stir to combine.

• While soup cooks, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add panko and toast, stirring, until lightly browned, 1-2 minutes.
• Transfer panko to a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

• Halve and toast baguette.
• While bread toasts, place 2 TBSP butter (4 TBSP for 4 servings) and remaining garlic powder in a second small microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until butter has melted, 30-60 seconds.
• Add lemon zest; season generously with pepper. Stir to combine.
• Brush garlic-lemon butter onto cut sides of toasted baguette. Halve on a diagonal.

• Once veggies are tender, carefully transfer soup to a blender (or food processor). TIP: If you have one, use an immersion blender to purée the soup right in the pot!
• Blend soup until no large pieces remain and mixture is smooth, 60-90 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. TIP: To blend hot soup safely, work in batches if needed, filling blender only halfway. To blend, remove center cap from blender lid, secure lid on blender, and hold a folded kitchen towel over the lid to allow steam to escape and protect yourself from splatters.

• To bowl with toasted panko, add bacon and scallion greens. Stir to combine.
• Divide soup between bowls. Top with bacon-scallion panko and dollop with crème fraîche. Serve garlic-lemon toasts and remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Pork is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 145°.