Acorn Squash and Vegetables Soup





This is a hearty soup my lady likes and I make this with a few variations.
What you need:

1. Acorn Squash
2. Onion
3. Carrot
4. Celery
5. Fennel Bulb
6. Beans (a can of one of these - Garbanzo, kidney, red, Lima, white)
7. Tomatoes, tomato paste, sun dried tomatoes in Olive Oil

Roughly cube the veggies except tomatoes.
Heat a large pot, add two spoons of EVOO, add veggies, sprinkle with salt and pepper and fry for 5 minutes.
Add enough water, two whole tomatoes, a spoon of tomato paste and bring to boil, reduce heat to medium heat and cover.
After about 20 minutes, take the cooked tomatoes out, add drained canned beans.
This is a good time to adjust salt and pepper and let it cook another 10 minutes.
Peel the tomatoes, add to a blending bowl along with a piece of ginger, garlic clove, sun dried tomatoes, some of the soup mix with veggies and blend.
Add to soup, cover on simmer for 2 minutes and your are done.
Let the soup stand in the pot for another 10 minutes before serving.
Tips and Tricks:
There is no one way to make a perfect soup. There are so many vegetables you can add to a soup but try to keep it to a minimum. Onion, Carrot, and Celery forms the base for these kind of soups so remember Italian (or Indian) flag colors.
You can add a spoon of all purpose flour when frying the vegetables which gives a nice texture to the liquid.
Do not fry long enough to char the veggies lest it changes the soup color and taste.
Save the squash seeds, add a spoon of EVOO, pinch of salt and toast until light golden brown. Garnish the soup with these seeds and leaves from Fennel bulb (similar to Dill) as shown in the above picture.
If you have fresh basil leaves, add them during blending towards the end. Cooking after adding any fresh herb is a big NO, NO.
Don't mix two fresh herbs. Your palette will be left confused.
Potatoes and Carrots are a great source of Potassium. If you peal them, you lose most of it. I scrub them with mild soap.
Add pasta 10 minutes before turning off the heat. Shells, rotini, elbows or tubes will work better.
Compliment with a thick loaf of Rosemary bread available in most gourmet markets and you got yourself a complete meal. Toast the bread with a little EVOO for best results.
Consider following vegetables as alternatives:

• Potatoes
• Fresh green beans
• Leeks
• Yellow squash
• Zucchini
• Chayote
• Any other squash