Spiced Roasted Apple & Acorn Squash Soup

More squash. Sorry; not sorry. We have quite a bit of the stuff. This is at least a different kind.  The tart apples, sweet spices, vinegar and mild squash needed a fair bit of pepper to balance it out, I thought, so check it before you serve it. I debated putting a little heat into this, and maybe another time I would. This was very nice, though; lively, sweet and tart.

4 servings
1 hour 30 minutes - 30 minutes prep time

Mix the Spices:
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon anise seeds
1/2 teaspoon allspice berries
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt

Grind everything together and set aside.

Roast the Squash, Etc & Finish the Soup:
1 large (1kg; 2 1/4 pounds) acorn squash
4 medium apples
4 shallots
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
3 cups unsalted chicken OR vegetable stock
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Cut the squash into quarters and scoop out the seeds and stringy bits from the centre. Rub the cut edges with a little oil, and roast the squash until tender, about an hour and a quarter.

Meanwhile, peel the apples, core them, and slice them into wedges - I used an apple cutter. Peel and cut the shallots into quarters. Toss both with a little oil and the spice blend, and spread them on a baking tray. Bake for about 45 minutes, until softened and slightly browned. Start checking them at the 30 minute mark though; apples vary a lot in the length of cooking time required, and much depends on how thickly you have sliced them.

The apples can cool while the squash finishes. Once the squash is roasted and cool enough to handle, peel off and discard the skins. Run the flesh through a food processor until smooth. You can add any quantity of the apples and shallots that you like, up to all of them, or you can keep some out, and mash them, and add them later to provide some chunky texture to the soup. Use some of the stock to thin the squash if it is too thick for the food processor.

Put the puréed squash, etc into a soup pot with the remaining apples and shallots (lightly mashed), the remaining stock, and the vinegar.  Heat to a good simmer and serve.

Posted in: Ontario Food