Squash and Pear Soup

Fall is in the air.  Watching the fall colors begin to blanket the trees brings my heart joy! This is definitely my favourite time of the year. And it is soup and crockpot season. 

Squash is not something that I grew up eating in Newfoundland. I think that it is something that would grow well there but it just never took off in my family or, in my best estimate, in the province.  But since coming “up along” (i.e. moving to Ontario), squash has become a favourite. Using the recipe below you can go in a number of different directions depending on your own personal taste making it incredibly versatile. You can incorporate a little curry, peanut butter and cilantro to make it Thai (a la my Step-daughter) or even add a little maple syrup and some other spices to make to even more fall’ish.  It makes a great starter to a Thanksgiving dinner party, well in my opinion almost any dinner party.

3 tbsp	Butter
1	Onion, chopped
1 tsp	Ginger (more or less to taste)
2 cloves	Garlic, minced
1	Butternut Squash, chopped – here is a little hint, peel the squash before you cut it up with a vegetable peeler. This will save you a lot of heartache. Or for an extra boost of flavour roast the squash (375C for 40-50 minutes) then just scrape off the peel.
2	Potatoes, peeled and chopped
2	Pears or apples, peeled and chopped
5 cups	Chicken stock ( I try to find the stock with the least amount of salt possible giving me more control over the seasoning)
	Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat add onions, ginger and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add squash, pears, potatoes and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and cook until all the vegetables are soft. Puree with a hand held blender or in a blender. I recommend using the hand held if you have one as it makes clean up a lot easier.

You can serve it with a few croutons on top or even a little sour cream.

To make Thai – add 1 tsp curry powder (more or less to taste), 2 tbsp peanut butter (I like the stuff that is just peanuts but my preference), and 1 tbsp cilantro (more or less to taste)

To make it fall’ish – add 2 tbsp maple syrup when you puree

For more spice flavour – add a dash or two of cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, etc to the pot.

To make creamier – add ½ cup heavy cream when you puree

Anything goes!



Squash and Pear Soup with Roasted Garlic Crusty Bread.



ENJOY!