Finishing the Farm Box: "Golden" Saffron Turmeric Acorn Squash Soup
Welcome to a new series I'm calling "Finishing the Farm Box" wherein we try to eat the last of the vegetables from the CSA, no matter how strange they are or how long they've been loitering on the counter or how many times we've received them in recent months.
Acorn squash is not my favorite squash. Around 2010 I spent three months baking eggs and rice in their little central cavity, but after I got the hang of immersion blending soups - for which other squashes are far superior - and the myriad wonderful uses of spaghetti squash, acorns squashes fell firmly to the wayside.
But they show up in the box all winter, and - as with so many squashes - the last forever, even when I put them on a window sill or in a fridge drawer and forget about them for four or five weeks. Sometimes I forget about them for so long that the next farm box comes and I find myself with two acorn squashes on my hands.
They may not be the best for soup but seasoning the baked, pureed squash meat with heavy doses of turmeric and small doses of saffron and a fresh, green olive oil produces some really nice results similar in concept to the "Golden Milk" recipes floating all over the internets these days. Recommended for a low fuss dinner when you have an hour to kill but don't want to pay too much attention to the preparation.
2 medium acorn squash
drizzle of olive oil
1 white onion
4 garlic cloves
1-3 cups water
2-3 saffron threads
salt + pepper
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ginger
Cut squash in half. Scoop out guts and seeds and throw away or save for roasting.
Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Drizzle squash halves in olive oil, salt + pepper.
Place squash halves face down in a roasting pan in 1 inch of water.
Roast for 30-45 minutes depending on size of squash. Poke with a fork. If you can pierce the skin, they are done.
Remove squash from oven and let cool enough to handle.
Scoop out the softened squash meat and add to a soup pot.
Add stock or water while immersion blending until your preferred thickness of soup is reached.
Add spices and season to taste. My measurements should leave you with a fairly spicy soup that is bright orange.
Serve with a swirl of olive oil like we did, or try pepitas or pistachios!
