My third small recipe for my small serving sized Thanksgiving recipes is my acorn squash and apple soup. This recipe is about 4 servings because I figured soup is something we all like to have ready to heat up on a cold day. So, even though it’s more than the smaller 1 to 2 persons servings I did with my cornish game hens, wild rice dressing, spinach salad, can candied sweet potatoes, I’m sure it won’t go to waste. The links to the other segments are below. I hope you try them all.

Acorn Squash and Apple Soup
serves 2

Ingredients

1/2 med Acorn Squash
1 1/2 tbl Olive Oil
1/2 Yellow Onion
1 med Carrot, chopped
1 Celery Stalk, sliced
1 Clove Garlic, peeled and minced
1 Granny Smith Apple, peeled and sliced
1 tsp Fresh Ginger, finely minced
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
2 1/2 cu Chicken Stock (or Vegetable Stock, if you’d like it vegetarian)
1 tbl Sugar (optional, see below)
2 tbl Pine Nuts

Method

Place the pine nuts in a small dry saucepan over medium high heat. Stir the pine nuts continually until they just start to brown. Immediately remove them from the heat and transfer them to a paper towel to cool. Be careful because they will burn quickly.

Preheat your oven to 400˚F. Cut the acorn squash in half and remove and discard the seeds. Wrap half of the squash in plastic and store it in your refrigerator for another recipe (it’s great baked with a little brown sugar, butter and maple syrup). Rub 1/2 a tablespoon of oil all over the flesh of the other half. Place the squash face side down on an aluminum lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for 45 minutes. Then, remove from the oven and set aside to cool fully.

Heat remaining olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the carrot, celery and garlic and continue to sauté for an additional 5 minutes until onions are translucent and carrots are tender. Add the apple and ginger and continue to sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Add the cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper and stir to combine. Peel the skin from the squash and cut the meat into small pieces and add it to the pot. Add the chicken stock (or vegetable stock) and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and simmer for 25 minutes.

The next step is to blend the soup in a blender. Be very careful with this step because hot liquids in a blend can cause injury if you’re not careful. Transfer the soup in small batches to the blender. Cover with the top and a dish towel and start the blender on low speed. Then increase to high and blend until smooth. Transfer to another container until you’ve blended all of the soup. Pour the soup into a clean pot and return to a low simmer before serving. Taste for seasoning. If you’d like a sweeter taste, add the sugar. Tastes will vary depending on the squash and the apple.

Ladle into a serving bowl and top with pine nuts.

Other Recipes In This Series (with video):

Cornish Game Hens With Wild Rice Dressing: http://waynesweekend.com/2020/11/20/thanksgiving-for-one-cornish-game-hens/

Cranberry Spinach Salad with Lemony Raspberry Dressing: http://waynesweekend.com/2020/11/22/thanksgiving-side-dishes-for-one-or-two/