Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

This Butternut Squash and Pear Soup is a time honored recipe that has been gracing our family's Thanksgiving table for years.

Thanks go again to my sister-in-law who had this soup in Quebec City many years ago and worked diligently to reproduce it.

You are going to cook the vegetables and purè them so you can rough chop them.  They don't have to be fancy.

You can bake the squash ahead of time. It will keep in the fridge for a few days if you want to be able to just finish the soup off the day you are serving without the extra bake time.

You can also prepare the soup to the point of blending it and refrigerate a day or so.  Add the cream and reheat gently just before serving. Top with maple  syrup and lime .

In the spirit of full disclosure.... the recipe calls for the addition of lime juice and zest just before serving.  I thought I had lime when I went to make it but I was mistaken.  So I improvised and served it with candied walnuts for garnish.  I think it would also be good with a few crumbles of blue cheese and croutons for garnish.

I wrote the recipe according to the intended recipe and added my improvisation in the variations notes.

This soup is hearty enough to serve as a main course or appetizer.

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

Author: Carolyn Hetke

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Canadian

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 large butternut squash
• ▢ 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 medium onion rough chopped
• ▢ 2 carrots peeled and rough chopped
• ▢ 2 stalks celery rough chopped
• ▢ 3 pears peeled and rough chopped
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 5 cups chicken stock
• ▢ ⅓ cup heavy cream (35%)
• ▢ 2 tsps maple syrup
• ▢ zest from 1 lime
• ▢ 2 tsps fresh lime juice
• ▢ croutons for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds from the cavity. Roast cut side down in the oven about an hour until it is fork tender. (Squash can be roasted upto 3 days ahead of time and kept in fridge).
• Heat butter and olive oil in a dutch oven. Add the onion, carrots, celery and pears along with the thyme, paprika, salt and pepper. Sautè until translucent. Do not brown.
• Remove the skin from the squash and add to the pan. Add the chicken stock and simmer about 20 minutes. Purè in a blender or with an immersion blender.
• Add the cream and gently heat through. Do not boil after the cream has been added.
• Just before serving add the lime juice, zest and maple syrup. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with croutons.
• Variation: Replace lime juice and zest with garnish of candied walnuts. Add 24 whole walnuts and 2 Tbsps brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir to coat walnuts with melted brown sugar. Cook until nuts are a deep brown. Watch carefully so they don't burn. Garnish each bowl of soup with 3 candied walnuts.

Nutrition

Calories: 190kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 432mg | Potassium: 139mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g

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