Roasted Acorn Squash and Pear Soup

Fall has officially begun, so I say bring on all the wonderful fall produce!! 

You will love this flavorful soup made with roasted acorn squash and sweet yellow Bartlett pears. 

Winter squashes like acorn squash make wonderful fall soup that can be delicious warm or just as good chilled.

With the fall weather vacillating between chilly nights and warm sunny days, this is the perfect soup . On an unseasonably warm day, eat this chilled soup chilled topped with chopped dates, cinnamon, gorgonzola cheese, pecans, and chopped pear.

I made this soup in three simple steps!

1. Roast the squash in the oven-

2. Blend in the blender

 3.  Eat or Chill 

Wash, cut , and core acorn squash 

Turn squash face down on parchment covered cookie sheet.. Place seeds alongside to roast.
I think that acorn squash seeds taste better than pumpkin seeds!

Once the squash is roasted, the soup itself can be made in minutes.

Acorn squash can be very sweet , especially when roasted in the oven. 

The seasonal yellow pears add an additional lovely flavor. 

But it is the toppings that bring it home for me!

The seeds need to be removed from the cookie sheet as soon as they turn brown. You can use a separate cookie sheet if you prefer. They are delicious and worth saving!!

The soup itself is vegan and of course totally gluten free- your toppings can be vegan or you can add blue cheese like I did!

Pears and blue cheese or gorgonzola chunks are a marriage made in heaven!

In the past there was some concern to as whether blue cheese was gluten free. It turns out it is!!

If you would like to know more read :  Is it safe to eat Blue Cheese on a gluten free diet?

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Prep Time: 10 minutes 

Baking Time: 40 minutes 

Blend Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients: 

1 acorn squash- washed,  cut in half and seeded

Save and wash the seeds and then toss in some olive oil and salt

2 yellow pears, peeled, cored, and quartered + a third pear to chop for garnish

4 cups of vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

On a parchment lined rimmed cookie sheet, place the acorn squash halves face down. Pierce the halves with a fork to allow steam to escape. On the same cookie sheet place the seeds from inside the squash. Place in oven for around 40 minutes or until squash is tender ( time will vary depending on the size of your acorn squash.) 

When the squash is tender, remove from the oven,  turn the squash face side up and scoop out the flesh. When cool, place in a strong blender along with the pears, vegetable broth, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth and then divide among individual serving bowls. 

Eat at room temperature or warm or chill and serve cold . 

You can go crazy with the toppings: 

Chopped pears, cinnamon, gorgonzola cheese, blue cheese, candied pecans, pecans, chopped dates- make it your way!!

Shared on Souper Sunday where anyone can share a soup, salad, or samie