The dark half of the year is upon us, spirits come closer to us, and the nights grow cold replacing the friendly warm summer nights with cold darkness that chills the bone. My garden soldiers on regardless, producing flowers, berries, and seeds. My daturas are still blooming along with the mullein and my white nightshade’s berries are turning as black and as shiny as a raven’s eye. At this time of year I get cravings for root vegetables and squash. Pumpkins, acorn squash, sweet potatoes, yams, parsnips, turnips, and carrots — oh my! I saw acorn squash at the market and had to bring one home for soup. Don’t bother and worry about all that cutting and peeling – there’s no need. I just cut them in half (use a serrated knife for ease), scoop out the seeds with a spoon and then season the inside with salt, pepper, and herbs. Then I place the halves face down on a baking sheet and roast in the oven at 375°F for 30 minutes.
While the acorn squash is roasting I set to work dicing two onions, two large carrots, two yams, and four garlic cloves. I tossed the onions and carrots in the soup pot with some olive first and when they had softened I added the garlic. Then I added 12 cups of chicken stock (you could easily use vegetable stock for a vegetarian version) and the diced yam and brought it to a boil. I let it boil on medium heat for half an hour until the yams had cooked through and then I added the roasted squash which I easily scooped out of the skin with a metal spoon.
Once the squash was added I poured the soup in a large bowl and added a little at a time into my blender to purée it. I took the centerpiece out of the lid to let the steam escape so the soup didn’t explode my blender and through the open hole added more soup once the blender had been turned on. Each blended portion then gets poured back into the soup pot and heated. Then I added salt and cracked smoked black peppercorns along with fresh thyme and oregano from my terrace garden. I always add a dash of hot sauce and worcestershire sauce to my soups as well.
Lastly I made some Irish soda bread with whole grain flour and lots of diced green onions (and plenty of butter) to go with the soup. And voilà, you have yourself a delicious Autumn harvest soup that will serve 8 people. To change it up you can use any kind of squash: pumpkin, spaghetti squash, butternut squash… whatever your favourite may be. If you hate squash then just up the number of carrots used and maybe add some parsnips too. Instead of herbs you could add nutmeg, ginger, coriander, and cumin for a spicier tasting soup. Happy witchin’ in the kitchen!
