Acorn squash soup with roasted kale chips and pine nuts

By junodemelo

Ingredients

• 2 small-medium acorn squashes
• 3-4 leaves kale, thick stems trimmed and chopped to 2-inch pieces
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup whole milk or half-and-half
• sprinkle of sea salt or coarse kosher salt
• pinch of nutmeg (optional)
• 1/2 about 1/2 cup pine nuts
• salt and pepper to taste

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and discard or reserve for another use. Grease a baking tray with a tablespoon or two of the olive oil and place squashes cut side-down. Roast for about 30 minutes or until the squash is tender when poked (depending on size/shape of your squash). Let cool completely. Scoop out flesh from the skins and discard skin. Combine the squash with the vegetable stock and process with a hand blender or by transfering until smooth. Bring to a simmer in a medium pot and season with salt and pepper to taste, adding the optional nutmeg if desired. Once seasoning is correct, add the milk or half-and-half and heat through completly.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Toss the kale pieces with about 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a sprinkle of coarse salt. Spread across a baking tray in an even layer and bake for about 1-2 minutes, or until loud crackling is heard. Carefully rotate the kale with tongs or by shaking the pan (carefully, it’s hot!). Place back in the oven and cook another 1-2 minutes, or until some pieces are just browned. Let cool. Top the soup with a handful of the kale chips and a sprinkle of the pine nuts.