Mini Timpanos from Big Night

Winter Squash Soup from How to Cook Your Life

Edward Espe Brown

One my favorite filmmakers, Doris Dorrie (Men, Enlightenment Guaranteed), has enlisted my help in creating her latest film, How To Cook Your Life (opening wide on November 16), which explains the guiding principles of Zen Buddhism as they apply to the preparation of food and life itself. This Winter Squash Soup, featured in the movie, is one of my favorite holiday recipes for a cold and crisp night.
The holidays are a time for us to share with our family and friends and in cooking we share in the effort that sustains our lives; we share in the bountifulness of the world. Onions, squash, pumpkins and more are intimately interconnected with the earth and sky, sun and water and giving and receiving – we all do our best.

Winter Squash Soup (Serves 4-6 people)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of winter squash, such as Pumpkin Perfection, Acorn or Delicato squash
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 apple, cored and sliced
• 4 cups of hot water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt

Bake the winter squash about 1 hour at 375 degrees. Allow it to cool, then cut open, remove seeds, and scoop out the flesh.
 
Grind the cumin and cardamom in an electric coffee mill used for grinding spices. Sauté the onion in olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the garlic, ginger, cumin and cardamom and continue cooking another 1 to 2 minutes.
 
Add the apple and 4 cups hot water, along with the squash. Cook for 10 minutes or until the apple is soft.  Puree with a hand blender or Cuisinart. Season with the lemon juice and salt to taste.

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