Squash soup and a formula for success

My husband and I have come up with a can't-fail squash soup recipe that's tweakable, simple, and a joy at the dinner table. You can use any kind of winter squash, and any onion in the onion family (we tend toward leeks). Here's how we do it:

Ingredients

1 medium winter squash

4 medium leeks

4-6 cups chicken or veggie stock

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Spices you prefer (we use curry sometimes, star anise at other times. Experiment!)

Toasted nuts of choice, chopped (we've used toasted almonds, toasted spiced pecans, etc.)

How-to

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Halve the squash and scoop out the innards. Cut each half into quarters, and peel them with a paring knife or veggie peeler. Cut into 1-inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and toss to coat well. Arrange in a single layer on 1 or 2 baking sheets. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place baking sheets in oven and roast squash until it is very tender, turning once or twice with spatula. Remove from oven and set aside.

While the squash is roasting, clean leeks, then chop coarsely. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil into a soup pot and heat. Add leeks and saute them until they are golden and tender. Add roasted squash to the sauteed leeks in the soup pot. Cover with chicken broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Blend the soup with a stick blender or in a regular blender (in small batches so you don't blow the blender lid off) until it is smooth. If you used a regular counter-top blender, return soup to pot and season with spices you've chosen. Simmer 10 minutes longer. Taste and adjust seasoning. Ladle into mugs or bowls, top with chopped nuts, and serve.

Finally, a savory post

I'm making good on my promise to post about something other than a dessert. Voila, Rice and Spinach Soup, which I found in one of my favorite cookbooks, From Biba's Italian Kitchen. The ingredients are few, fresh and uncomplicated, but the resulting soup is rich and satisfying, without being heavy. I have a feeling I'll be making this soup a lot this winter. The only departure I made from the methods in the original recipe is that I tempered the egg mixture with some of the hot broth, so that the eggs wouldn't curdle when I added them back into the main soup pot. I recommend you go buy this book, because every recipe I've made from it has turned out wonderfully. Without further blather, here is the recipe:

Rice and Spinach Soup

(minestrina di riso e spinaci)

1 lb fresh spinach, stems and bruised leaves discarded

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 quarts chicken broth

3/4 cup rice (arborio preferred)

3 large eggs

salt to taste

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Wash the spinach thoroughly under cold running water. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil over medium heat. Add pinch of salt and the spinach and cook, uncovered, until tender, 5-6 minutes. Stir a few times during cooking. Drain the spinach and squeeze out any excess water. Chop the spinach with a large knife or in a food processor pulsing the machine on and off. Do not puree the spinach.

Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. When the butter begins to foam, add the spinach and mix quickly. Place spinach in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Bring the broth to a boil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the rice and cook until tender but firm to the bite, about 15 minutes.

Beat the eggs in a medium-sized bowl. Season with salt and nutmeg, and add the cheese, blending thoroughly. Stir the egg mixture into the spinach. To temper the eggs, slowly add 2-3 ladles full of hot broth to the egg-spinach mixture, pouring in a thin stream and whisking quickly. Add the tempered egg-spinach mixture to the soup pot and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook 2 to 3 minutes longer, stirring. Taste and adjust seasoning, and serve hot.