Creamy Leek and Acorn Squash Soup

This recipe is a simple lovely bowl of soup, the kind you want to make when you are snowbound and have the vegetables on hand. I am actually trying to move through the vegetables on hand. We are going on vacation next week - much, much, needed one at that! A special treat I get to go and visit my baby brother in Seattle.

So, most of this weekend and Monday evening is going to be spent on figuring out, how to eat down the fridge...

This soup truly is very peaceful, I made two kinds of simple sandwiches to eat with it to complete a nice comforting lunch. The leeks take a long time to carmelize, so I do the rest of the chopping while the leeks are cooking. I was a little disapointed to see how much of the green stuff was getting thrown away, actually for no particular reason, so I ended up adapting a savory tart that used this, that will come up later.

Creamy leek and acorn squash soup

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes (mostly for the soup to simmer)

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 leeks (thinly sliced, and very well washed white and pale green parts only)

4 stalks of celery, thinly chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

1 small acorn squash, peeled and cut into smaller pieces (about 2 cups of squash)

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons maple syrup

3 cups of water

1/2 cup light cream

2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro

Red pepper flakes to garnish

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the butter and the olive oil and add in the cumin seeds and wait for them to sizzle.

2. Reduce the heat and add the celery and the leek and cook on low heat stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes, the leeks wilt, shrink and then begin to turn very lightly golden.

3. At this point add in the ginger and cook for 2-3 more minutes.

4. Add in the squash, salt and maple syrup and mix well.

5. Add in the water and simmer for 25-30 minutes.

6. Cool slightly, puree until smooth in the blender and then stir in the cilantro and red pepper flakes.