Cozy Winter Soup

For me, winter weather = soup weather!

I roasted some acorn squash the other night for dinner and wasn’t sure how to use the leftovers. So I decided to just make a soup!

I didn’t follow a recipe but wanted to share because it turned out pretty good. First I sautéed some shallots, onions, carrots and half of an apple. I used gala but I saw on some other recipes that Granny Smith apples were popular for squash soups.

I cooked all of that in some butter until the onions and shallots were lightly browned. Then I added a can of chicken broth (I did half a can at first and then ended up adding the rest). I brought it to a boil for a few minutes.

I added the leftover squash (I had acorn but any kind could work except maybe spaghetti squash). Continued to boil a minute or two and then reduced it.

For the seasoning I added stuff (no measuring) until I felt like the taste was right. Here is what I added:

Salt and Pepper

Nutmeg

Cinnamon

Paprika

Sage and Thyme

Garlic Powder

I let it simmer for a good 20 minutes and used my immersion blender to blend it up until creamy. Then I let it simmer for some more time, basically until it was lightly bubbling and I liked the texture. I only use my immersion blender half a dozen times a year but I absolutely LOVE it. It is so easy to use, easy to clean up and makes soups so good creamy!

When the soup was done I topped it with a spoonful of sour cream and toasted walnuts. It turned out REALLY good! I liked it a lot.

The only thing I would change: Use minced garlic instead of powder garlic.

You can top it with a bunch of different stuff. Crumbled Goat cheese would be fantastic (I just didn’t have any). Toast some sage leaves and add it to the top. I saw one recipe that had pepitas on top. You can also add some coconut milk or heavy cream to the soup, or add curry to make the flavor a little different. I really liked how versatile this soup is. You can make it sweet, savory or spicy!

From start to finish it took about 45 minutes. Super easy. I would definitely make this again with leftover squash and try different flavors! I love a coconut curry squash soup…