Acorn Squash Soup

Do you like my fine china slummin' it with the paper napkin?

In an effort to get all job-related work done before Thanksgiving week (so I can do school-related work…bleh), I planned a series of “set it and forget it” meals: casseroles, soups, microwave-utilizing foods that will allow me to stay an extra hour at work.

Somehow, though, I get into the kitchen and desire to embellish. It’s stress relief. Luckily, the husband hasn’t been complaining about our increasingly later mealtime.

And so, what was a simple acorn squash soup needed a sprinkling of sugared pecans, feta, and sage. It was transformed! Here’s how it went together.

Ingredients
Olive oil for pan
1 medium onion, chopped
½ tsp nutmeg
1 acorn squash, roasted whole for 1 hour in a 350 oven, seeds and skin removed, chopped into large chunks
1 15-oz. can of pumpkin
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Probably makes at least 8 servings, depending on the size of the acorn squash.

For Soup
Heat olive oil in bottom of a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and slightly caramelized. Add nutmeg, squash, pumpkin, and vegetable broth. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Let the soup simmer until it reaches the desired level of thickness; I let it go for 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Blend soup using an immersion blender or a regular blender in batches, as I did. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For Embellishment (makes enough for 2 bowls)
Olive oil for pan
1 large garlic clove, chopped
2 tbsp pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp feta or goat cheese
chopped fresh sage

Heat olive oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add garlic clove; sauté 1 minute. Add pecans and sugar, stirring until sugar is melted. Remove from heat. Sprinkle pecan-garlic mixture over soup. Add feta and sage.