Yield is variable

Serve your fall soups in style! Roasted acorn squash looks lovely and tastes fabulous when scooped up with spoonfuls of soup.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Cut off the tops of acorn squash (about 1 inch from the stem end) and discard. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Cut a very thin slice off the bottoms to make a stable base. Brush the insides and tops with canola or olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Place the squash in a lightly oiled baking pan. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the flesh is fork-tender.

Place the roasted squash on a plate or set in a soup bowl. Serve immediately filled with warm soup.

Paulette Mitchell, a culinary instructor, television personality, spokesperson, freelance food writer, and the award-winning author of 13 cookbooks, is known internationally for her quick-to-prepare recipes with gourmet flair. Paulette's most recently published cookbook is "The Complete 15-Minute Gourmet: Creative Cuisine Made Fast and Fresh." She is also the author of "A Beautiful Bowl of Soup" and "The Spirited Vegetarian," which was voted "Best Book in the World on Cooking with Wine" at the 2005 Gourmand World Media Awards. Paulette says that international travel is her favorite source of culinary inspiration.