This soup is hearty enough for a meal—just add salad and crusty bread. It’s equally delicious made with Hubbard squash when you can find it! You can also get creative with toppings—a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkling of pomegranate arils, and perhaps roasted and chopped nuts.
Peel the skin from the squash and cut the squash into chunks. Working in batches as needed, place the squash, the other cooked ingredients, and the broth in a blender and process until smooth. Transfer the soup to a large saucepan and heat through before serving. Season with the curry powder, if desired, and a few pinches of pepper.
According to ancient Greek mythology, Theseus promised Apollo olive branches and fresh fruit if he triumphed over the fearsome Minotaur. But stores of fresh food were nearly depleted during the return sail from Crete, forcing Theseus to offer this simple soup to the god. And it is fit for the gods!
Serves 4 to 6 — Recipe adapted from themediterraneandish.com
Silky and rich-tasting (though it contains no cream), this is one of our favorite fall soups.
Serves 4 — Recipe adapted from cookieandkate.com
A generous drizzle of fresh-pressed extra virgin olive oil before serving gives this soup richness (we love its jewel-like color).
Serves: 4 to 6 — Recipe from cooking.nytimes.com
Cabbage is ubiquitous in Portuguese vegetable gardens and on Portuguese tables. This flavorful soup reminds me of the wonderful meals I’ve enjoyed at Filipe Madeira’s table, nearly all featuring cabbage in some guise.
Serves 8 — Recipe from Saveur, February 2012
This zesty take on cornbread makes a great accompaniment to so many meals—an egg-based breakfast, a lunch of hearty chili, or a gumbo dinner. Reheat any leftovers and top with red pepper jelly for a great snack. Along with the peppers, the cornmeal and white whole-wheat flour bring a little of the always-needed fiber.
Yields 8 generous wedges
Roasting cauliflower adds great depth of flavor to this velvety soup enhanced with cheddar cheese and a hint of heat from cayenne.
Yields 4 servings
You likely have everything you need in your pantry to make this hearty and filling soup. Feel free to use green French lentils or the more common (and less expensive) brown variety. Blending a portion of the soup gives it a creamy texture.
Serves 4 — Recipe adapted from cookieandkate.com
Simple but sublime is the pumpkin soup my Merry Band of Tasters and I were served when visiting the Librandi family, one of Calabria’s outstanding olive oil producers. “Mama” Librandi shared the recipe with me.
Yields 6 appetizer or 4 main course servings
This dish is easy to make yet tastes complex with layers of flavor and, even better, is also comforting on a cold day. I recommend roasting your vegetables—before puréeing them—for maximum flavor and enhanced natural sweetness.
Heat your oven to 425°F. Coat a large baking sheet with the olive oil and add all the vegetables, with the squash pieces skin side up. Roast for 30 minutes, flip the vegetables with a spatula, and roast for another 20 minutes. Once the vegetables are cool enough to handle, scrape all the squash flesh from its skin and transfer to your food processor along with the carrots, onions, 1 cup of the broth, and the spices. Pulse a few times, adding more liquid as needed until it reaches a purée consistency. Taste and add more cinnamon and/or nutmeg as desired.
A cornucopia of seasonal flavors comes together in this creamy vegetarian soup. It’s homey, yet you can serve it to the most sophisticated palates in your best china or rustic soup bowls. It gets a double hit of fresh-pressed olive oil, which is used in the vibrant, herbaceous pesto as well as the soup.
Serves 6 — Recipe from halfbakedharvest.com
The appeal of this autumnal soup lies in its simplicity. The sweetness of the butternut squash is enhanced by roasting and by the addition of a small amount of maple syrup.
Serves 4 — Recipe adapted from cookieandkate.com