Recipe: Acorn Squash Bisque from Jo Marie Scaglia, owner of Caffeteria (2024)

by: Toni Talley, Michele Allen

Posted: Oct 5, 2021 / 04:05 PM CDT

Updated: Oct 5, 2021 / 05:00 PM CDT

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jo Marie Scaglia shares the perfect soup for fall and her addition to the menu for the Supperclub benefiting women in culinary arts. The recipe can be made vegetarian or vegan by substituting vegetable stock and coconut milk.

Acorn Squash Bisque(Makes 2 quarts)

• 1 pound acorn squash, seeds removed, peeled and diced
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1/8 cup maple syrup
• 1/8 cup honey
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 ½ tablespoons butter
• ½ small white onion, diced
• 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 cups chicken stock or water
• ½ pint heavy cream
• 1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon each: ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves
• Maple syrup, to taste
• Coarsely ground salt and pepper, to taste

1. To roast squash: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread acorn squash onto a baking sheet. Whisk together oil, maple syrup, honey, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and pour over the top of squash. Use clean hands or a spatula to massage the dressing over all the squash.
3. Roast seasoned squash in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork.
4. To make soup: In a large stock pot over medium heat, melt butter and sauté onion until translucent. Add water or chicken stock, roasted squash and brown sugar and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
5. Stir in heavy cream, vinegar, 1/8 teaspoon each cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Season soup with maple syrup and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with Pumpkin Seed Pistou and Sage Crema.
7. (This recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian, if water is substituted for chicken stock.)

Pumpkin Seed Pistou and Sage Crema(Makes about ½ cup each)

For the Pistou:

• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 ½ cups fresh sage
• 1 ½ cups fresh basil
• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

For the sage crema:

• 3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) fresh sour cream
• ¾ teaspoon dried crushed sage

1. Place all Pistou ingredients in a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade and blend until ingredients are smooth. In a bowl, combine crema and sage. Drizzle pistou over soup and add a dollop of crema before serving.
2. (This Pistou is gluten-free, dairy free and vegetarian. This Crema is gluten-free and vegetarian.)

Midwest Maven’s Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette (Makes about 2 cups)

• 1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar
• ¾ cup pure maple syrup
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) Dijon mustard
• 3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) stoneground mustard
• 1 ½ tablespoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

1. Combine all ingredients until the dressing is thoroughly blended.
2. Place dressing in a container and store in the refrigerator until ready for use on your favorite salad.
3. (This recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free.)

About Midwest Maven Jo Marie Scaglia. Maker. Creator. Maven

You may know Jo Marie Scaglia from her restaurant concepts the Mixx (2005) and Caffetteria (2018). As the daughter of a restaurateur, Jo Marie began learning her craft early. Her young adult years took her to San Francisco where she melded her Midwest sensibilities with her big city style to fine-tune a taste that was all her own. Now, she blends her years of experience and a love of creation to bring you Midwest Maven — a lifestyle brand that, like Jo Marie herself, is artistic at heart and Midwest to the core.

Follow her Instagram and blog for musings on food, florals, entertaining, interiors and her farmhouse renovation in Weston, Missouri. @mwmaven and www.mwmaven.com