Foodie Friday: That's not a recipe; that's just a list of ingredients with instructions for how to prepare and combine them Edition

It's fall, or nearly so, and the temperature is dropping at night, and it's dark at dinnertime again, which means that you should be eating squash. This recipe uses acorn and kabocha squash, but works with any combination of one sweet and one savory variety. Like melons and other fruits and vegetables with hard rinds, smaller squash often have more intense flavors.

Roast squash soup

for the stock
carcass, bones, and leftovers of a whole roast chicken, plus its reserved organs and neck
1 mid-sized yellow onion, quartered
2 large carrots, very roughly chopped
sea salt
water

for roasting the squash
1 kabocha squash, halved
1 acorn squash, halved
olive oil

the rest
3 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and cubed
fresh thyme
sea salt
black pepper
gruyère, grated
parsely

To make the broth, place all of the ingredients in a medium stock pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, skim any scum or foam off the surface, then simmer, covered, for several hours. Strain once through a strainer/colander, then again through a cheesecloth.

To roast the squash, preheat the oven to 425. Place the halves in a large roasting pan and rub the exposed flesh with olive oil. Roast for 30-40 minutes, until flesh can be easily pierced by a fork.

Remove the squash from the oven and set aside to cool slightly. Bring the stock to a gentle boil and add the potatoes, salt to taste, and a bunch of whole sprigs of thyme, bound with twine so as to be easily removed later on. Remove the rind from the squash and cube the flesh, adding it to the stock as you do so. Cook until both potatoes and squash are soft enough to be mashed with the tines of a fork--just a few minutes.

Remove from heat. Remove the thyme. In a food processor and working in batches, purée the soup to a smooth consistency. Return to low heat, stirring well for a few minutes to even the texture. Serve garnished with gruyère, parsely, and cracked black peppercorns.