(Serves 8–10)
This recipe is from the November 1971 issue of Gourmet Magazine, one of the first I ever bought after I was married in June of that year. Those early issues have grown into a collection covering the thirty-six years since then, and I use them all the time.
I served this smooth, rich-tasting soup for twenty years as a caterer, and it never failed to get rave reviews (and requests for the recipe, which I wasn’t able to honor at the time). It has also been served at every family Thanksgiving reunion since I first introduced it more than ten years ago. Now, if I don’t make and bring it, someone else will. It is so easy to serve because it can be ladled into mugs and sipped as an appetizer, though it makes a beautiful presentation at table too.
In a saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter and add one cup minced onion and 1/4 cup minced carrot. Sprinkle the vegetables lightly with salt and white pepper. Cover the vegetables with a sheet of waxed paper, put the lid on the pan and cook the vegetables about ten minutes, or until they are tender. Add 2 medium potatoes and 2 acorn squashes, both peeled and cubed, and 4 cups of chicken stock, and simmer until the vegetables are very tender. (You can make this a vegetarian soup by using a good vegetable stock.) Cool a bit and then puree the soup in batches in a blender or food processor and return it to the pan. Add 1/2 cup each heavy cream and milk and simmer the soup until it is heated through. Add one teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper or to taste. Serve in cups, mugs or low soup bowls garnished with a bit of cayenne pepper.
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