It’s a winter rainbow!! Here are two soups that are so darned good individually, but really sing when put together. We start with a Roasted Acorn Squash Soup with Coconut Milk that’s comforting and mellow. Then to jazz things up a little we add a Spiced Carrot Soup, full of warm winter spices with just a kick of heat. Swirl them together, add some creme fraiche and herb oil if you like, and go to town. They are both a breeze to make, so the time commitment is doable, even during these crazy, frantic holidays.
Let’s get started at the beginning of this whole thing. Get that acorn squash in the oven to roast, and when thats all done you just toss it in a soup pot with some sautéed onion and coconut milk, and gently heat to combine. Then everybody into the blender, and you get this super smooth, comforting but tropical piece of heaven. Really – you could stop right there and be happy as a clam, but how about we check out this Spiced Carrot Soup idea? By the way, I played around with this one by dotting with some Basil Oil and drawing a skewer through. They are supposed to be heart shapes, but….
This one is a snap to make also – toss plenty of carrots into a soup pot with some onion and celery, add some vegetable broth and water, and let it go until the carrots are tender. Off the heat for a short cool down, then into the blender goes the whole works. You’ll add more broth to get to the consistency when that’s taken care of, and then you get to add all those warm, wintery spices: cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves. For some kick, we’ll toss in some garlic, cumin, and cayenne. Oh yeah. I played around by dotting some creme fraiche on top and then drawing a skewer through to make some hearts. Awwwww.
Again, if you are only in the mood for Carrot Soup, that’s the place to stop. But if you are curious about his Rainbow Soup idea where you combine them both together, this is how you go about it. Amaze your friends – the greatest thing about this is the combination of flavors when both soups are put together. One a little spicy, and the other pure comfort. Here’s how it’s done….First of all, make sure both of your soups are just about the same consistency. Add more broth or liquid to the one that needs thinning. This will prevent one of the soups from trespassing onto the others territory in the bowl before you are good and ready for him to do it. This can be a bit tricky, and works better if you have two people working together with each pouring one of the soups into the side of the bowl. It is a fun party trick if you are into that kind of thing. It should look kind of like this to start with.
Now for the fun part – grab a chopstick or some other type of skewer, and let your inner artist go crazy. I have no inner artist, so I just swirl things around a little.
Now that your swirling or other design has been done, you can have fun with garnishes if you want. I usually go the creme fraiche route because it behaves well and white is a nice contrast. I also like to use herb oils like basil oil for some green to liven things up. For this one I also used a carrot peeler and made long strips of carrot, then curled them up and roasted them just to see what wold happen. Kinda cute… Roasted pumpkin seeds would be a great garnish for this also.
So there you have it: two separate soups that are easy to make and are just right for a cold winter’s night. Enjoy them separately or have fun swirling!
Hope you enjoy! Thanks so much for reading today – I really appreciate it. Happy holidays!! xoxoxo
Roasted Acorn Squash Soup & Spiced Carrot Soup
Ingredients
- FOR THE ROASTED ACORN SQUASH SOUP WITH COCONUT MILK
- 2 acorn squash
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cans coconut milk I used full-fat
- Salt and pepper to taste
- FOR THE SPICED CARROT SOUP
- 10 carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 ribs celery cut into 2 inch pieces
- 3 cans vegetable stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. powdered ginger
- ½ tsp. cumin
- ¼ tsp. cardamom
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- Pinch of cloves
- Pinch of cayenne
- Agave or honey to taste
Instructions
- FOR THE ROASTED ACORN SQUASH SOUP WITH COCONUT MILK
- Cut the squash in half lengthwise, remove seeds and roast on a well oiled cookie sheet or in a baking dish at 350 degrees until baked through and a sharp knife inserted into the squash gets no resistance when you stick it in there.
- While the squash is baking, dice the onion and sauté in a large soup pan or Dutch oven until translucent.
- When the squash has finished baking and is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and add to the soup pan (you should have right around 6 cups of squash).
- Add the coconut milk and heat just until warm. Take a look at the consistency – if it’s super thick, add some water.
- Process the soup in blender or food processor until smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan. Check for consistency again – you want a fairly thick and creamy soup, but not something that is so thick that if seems more like a vegetable puree. Add more some more water until you get the consistency that feels right to you. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately or follow directions for Rainbow Soup below.
- FOR THE SPICED CARROT SOUP
- In a large stockpot, combine the carrots, onion, celery, vegetable stock and salt & pepper. Add enough water to cover the vegetables by about 1 inch if you need to.
- Cook the vegetables over medium high heat until the carrots are tender.
- Allow the mixture to cool until warm, and then ladle spoonfuls of this mixture into a blender. Be careful! If it’s too hot you will have a soup explosion which is not desirable under any circumstances. Start at a low speed and work your way up to high, and blend until the vegetable mixture is super smooth. Pour pureed vegetables into a separate soup pot.
- Once all of the puree is in the new soup pot, check for consistency – add more vegetable stock if needed to get to your desired thickness.
- Add the garlic powder, ginger, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and cayenne. Taste and adjust seasoning to suit you. Add agave or honey if you think the soup could use a little sweetness.
- Serve immediately or follow directions for creating the Rainbow Soup below.
- TO ASSEMBLE THE WINTER RAINBOW SOUP
- cups Roasted Acorn Squash and Coconut Milk Souo
- cups Spiced Carrot Soup
- OPTIONAL GARNISHES: ½ cup crème fraiche, ½ cup thin shavings or roasted carrots, herb or basil oil, finely chopped fresh chives
- Heat both soups separately over medium low heat until steaming. Check to make sure the soups are about the same thickness/consistency. You may need to thin one or the other with some broth, water, or coconut milk.
- Using two labels, pour the soups simultaneously into individual serving bowls, making sure the colors do not blend.
- Using a chopstick or wooden skewer, blend portions of one of the soups into the other to create an attractive design. Be careful not to blend the two together, just lightly swirl one color into the next.
- Garnish if you wish with crème fraiche, shavings of roasted carrots, herb or basil oil. Serve immediately.