Acorn Squash & Cauliflower Soup

Food Trend: Squash and Gords, especially prepared in soups, are the cool kids on the block (sic. farmers market stand) during the fall. There are SO many types of squash available, how does one choose what to cook?

Inspiration: It’s been a warm fall in NYC, but the first fall day in NYC with a chill happened to be a Wednesday, my favorite day at the Union Square Greenmarket. I knew I wanted to make some sort of squash soup, so while picking out my squash I laid eyes on the most beautiful and bright orange and green cauliflower. I had to buy it.

Adaptation: The most popular squash/gord soups are Butternut Squash and Pumpkin. I created my own spin by combining acorn squash with the orange cauliflower – the color it produces is incredible. Being health conscious, I used coconut milk instead of cream/butter and the result was a comforting fall soup.

Prep Photos & Tips

Cutting the raw squash is REALLY hard. Make sure you have a very sharp knife. Cut in half first….carefully. Then you can cut horizontally and peel the skin off at this point before you cube the squash. OR – just buy pre-cut squash.

Look how beautiful this Cauliflower is! Clean and break apart cauliflower into medium/small pieces.

I sauteed my squash with garlic, onions, ginger and fresh thyme before adding my stock & Cauliflower. I then gave it a quick bath in white wine too to blend the flavors.

If you don’t have a hand held immersion blender. Go buy one! This photo is blurry because of all the steam from the hot soup. Once the vegetables are soft enough, by using this blender, your chunky soup will become creamy instantly!

To serve, I garnished the soup roasted the green cauliflower (roasted at 400 degrees for about 30 min with EVOO & Salt) and Pomegranate Seeds. Finished the dish with some truffle oil.

Acorn Squash & Cauliflower Soup

2013-10-24 12:15:17

Serves 8

Creamy, healthy, farmers market fresh Acorn Squash and Orange Cauliflower Soup. Garnished with Roasted Green Cauliflower and Pomegranate Seeds.

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Ingredients

2 Medium Acorn Squash

1 Large Head of Orange Cauliflower

1 Medium Head of Green Cauliflower

1 small onion, diced

4 Cloves Garlic, peeled and smashed

2 in Piece of Fresh Ginger, cut in strips

5-6 sprigs fresh thyme (about 1 T of dried)

8 Cups Chicken Stock (unsalted)

EVOO

1 can unsweetened coconut milk

1 cup white wine

Salt & White Pepper to taste

Instructions

Cut, Peel and Cube the squash into 1" pieces and trim Cauliflower into 1" Florets

Sautee Onions, Garlic & Ginger in EVOO in a large sauce pot until translucent

Add squash, white wine, 1 tablespoon salt and thyme. Cover let wine boil down

Add Cauliflower & 8 Cups of Chicken Stock. Cover. Bring to a boil

Simmer for around 20-30 minutes or until sqash and cauliflower is soft and will break apart with the back of a spoon

Remove thyme stems, and with a hand-held immersion blender, blend together

TASTE! Add salt, white pepper and a bit of acid to brighten it up if needed. For this either a bit of OJ or half of lemon will do the trick. Even apple cider vinegar would work.

Optional: Add can of coconut milk and stir to incorporate.

Garnish with extra Roasted Cauliflower (roast for 30 min at 400 degrees with EVOO & Salt) and Pomegranate Seeds and a drizzle of truffle oil

Notes

When I make soups I like to make them in large batches so I can freeze the extra. This soup defrosts and re-heats very easily. So that's why it serves 8-10!

By Julie Zucker

Press Worthy Eats http://www.pressworthyeats.com/