Taste Fall in this warm and comforting soup
So fall has been in the air for a week now, well not really. It was in the 80’s and sunny this week and today it cold and snowy. Okay, it’s Fall in Colorado and time for soup. Acorn Squash soup that is!
On days like today, it’s pretty much perfect. A day at home, the heat is on in the house and catching up on “desk duty”. I totally enjoy rainy or snowy or “snainy” (rain and snow mix) days because I feel no guilt for not being outside! Today in particular is a good one. I’m feeling nostalgic as I sit inside and think about growing up in Cincinnati. I loved growing up there but left the town mainly because of the awful weather. Hot, humid, cold but never cold enough and wet freezing rain. Kinda like today in Colorado. Our first snow of the year this morning followed by wet “snain” mix in the afternoon! Fall is here, and the ski resorts are getting a good early season base. Yeah! That’s really all that matters for us mountain lovers!
So as I sit inside, looking out to a grey day, I start thinking about a few things. Mom always made Butternut Squash soup, Nanna always had a glass of Sherry and Cincinnati. How could I incorporate thinking about everyone in one fell “soup”?
So now I start looking at my veges from my summer garden and realize that I have a huge amount of Acorn Squash and thinking what the heck am I going to do with them all? Make Acorn Squash soup, that will use up a lot fast. Usually, I bake them with butter, brown sugar, nuts and warm spices, but since Nanna, my Mom and Cincinnati were on my mind why not make soup?
Not sure who thinks brown sugar and soup sound good together, but they sound yicky to me so why not bring in the sweetness of cream sherry into the mix with a little nutmeg to make a warm fall concoction! After my my thoughts of three today, here is what I came up with. Acorn Squash soup, perfect for a Fall day!
- Olive oil and salt and pepper for roasting acorn squash
- 4 tbs butter
- 1 cup onions chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 inch piece of fresh ginger minced (1 tbs) (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
- 4 cups roasted acorn squash (I used 7, cut in half)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbs fresh thyme leaves (1 tsp dried)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 freshly grated nutmeg
- 6 cups chicken broth (preferably homemade)
- 1/2 cup cream sherry
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 4 tbs fresh parsley chopped (optional)
- 1/2 cup toasted walnuts (optional)
- Prepare acorn squash by cleaning out seeds and cutting in half. Place on a baking sheet and cover with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 1/2 hour or until cooked through. Set aside and remove the squash when cool and set aside.
- In a separate dry pan toast walnuts until light brown, set aside.
- In a large stock pot melt butter and add onions, garlic and ginger. Cook for 5 minutes until soft but not browned on medium heat.
- Add acorn squash, salt and pepper, thyme, nutmeg and bay leaf. Stir to incorporate.
- Add chicken broth and cream sherry. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- With a hand blender (or regular blender in small batches) incorporate until smooth.
- Stir in half and half and parsley.
- Serve warm with toasted walnuts.