I honestly can’t believe that tomorrow is the first day of October. I find myself wondering, yet again, where the time has gone?! It seriously feels so wild that Casper was a wee little thing this time last year and now he’s trying to run and climb all the things–and pitching a good dose of attitude while he’s at it (oof). Like, he climbs onto our dining chairs, then tries to stand up, I tell him to sit down and he shouts some unintelligible protest at me. I’ve got a rebel on my hands and I wonder when this happened all of the sudden. This weekend I was going through his clothes and getting all sorts of emotional over his tiny jackets and pants from last fall. I never thought I’d be that mom, but my eyeballs betrayed me. Damnit.
Before I get too weepy on you, I’ll talk about this soup because we’re not really here for my #momissues. A few weeks ago when it was still summer I bought a bunch of winter squash at the farmers market because I couldn’t resist! I also bought tomatoes because I’m not insane. The farm stand I bought this carnival squash from had little descriptions of each variety with flavor and texture notes. I really appreciated it and picked out squashes with keywords like “buttery”, “nutty”, and “smooth flesh”. That last one is a little creepy out of context, but something I’m totally after in my winter squash, you know? This soup turned out silky with a mildy sweet, buttery flavor that worked so well with the spicy chorizo and nutty manchego. There’s sherry in this soup because I wanted to take this whole Spanish thing all the way. The fried almonds on top are optional, but not really because they bring amazing salty texture (and flavor) to this otherwise velvety soup. My favorite thing about this soup, besides it’s deliciosness and relative ease of execution, is that it kind of knocked Sean over. Like, he usually feels very on the “meh” side of all things winter squash and he ate two massive bowls in a row. I call that a WIN.
- ½ cup diced Spanish chorizo
- 1 cup diced onion, from 1 small onion
- 1½ lbs carnival or acorn squash, peeled and diced
- 2 small potatoes, peeled and diced (about 1½ cups)
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup dry sherry
- 4 cups chicken stock
- ¼ cup grated manchego cheese, plus more for garnish
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- parsley
- Heat a pot over medium heat and add the diced chorizo, cook stirring until some of the fat has rendered out and the chorizo begins to crisp up. Remove the chorizo from the pot with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate, reserving the fat from the chorizo in the pot. Add the diced onion to the chorizo drippings and add a pinch of salt. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally for a few minutes until translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook an additional minute or so, being careful not to burn. Carefully add the dry sherry and cook until the sherry is mostly evaporated. Add the squash and potato, followed by the chicken stock. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the squash and potatoes are very soft.
- While the soup simmers, heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and the almonds, stirring to coat the almonds. Cook the almonds for a minute or two, until lightly golden brown fragrant. Remove the almonds from the pan and spoon onto a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt.
- Chop the parsley
- After 2 minutes, stir in the grated manchego, followed by the sherry vinegar. Cook another minute and remove from the heat. Add the cream and using an immersion blender or regular blender, blend the soup until silky and smooth (if you are using a regular blender you may have to do this in batches).
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the reserved chorizo, grated manchego, fried almonds, and parsley.
This is such a gorgeous soup for Fall! I love using seasonal squashes in soup. Totally have to make this!
Cindy, these images are stunning! I love the chorizo kick added to this soup. I have a hard time getting my family on the squash soup groove. I’ll have to try this.
So gorgeous!!! Love it!
I am a soup girl through and through, even when it’s a million degrees outside. This is so perfect for fall and is STUNNING!
YUM!!! Manchego is one of my favorite cheeses, but I never think to cook with it. Love this!
Also, “smooth flesh.” LOL!!
Oh man smart thinking with the chorizo on top!!!!
Ugh, I am so jealous you’re going into pumpkin season.
I bought some yesterday and they were still lovely and golden but it won’t be for long!
P.S. Chorizo and Manchego is my new soup topper! Amazing.
This recipe looks great! I think I might be missing something obvious but in the recipe is directs us to “add the squash and the potatoes” and mention them once more when it says “or until squash and potatoes are tender” but the ingredients list does not mention potatoes? Are we supposed to add potatoes? If so, how many and how should they be cut? Thanks!
Ah! Thanks for catching that, Victoria!! There are two small potatoes, diced. I will add that to the recipe.
Mmmmmmmmm I am all about creamy fall soups! So happy it’s squash season again. I’m eager to try this recipe on my man, who says he doesn’t like smooth soups. Hopefully those almonds will win him over – he’s missing out!
Texture is everything!