I’m at the table enjoying the last bit of fall color
and a hayride, courtesy of Royal Stafford’s Hayride Harvest~
My harvest of gray pumpkins is
paired with a few leaves for a pop of color~
And I’m enjoying a visit to the Blacksmith’s Forge,
courtesy Royal Stafford~
One of our favorite fall soups is Roasted Pear and Butternut Squash~ easy and full of flavor, since you roast all the ingredients in the oven and add them to chicken stock!
Roasting the pears and the butternut squash caramelizes their sugars, enhancing their natural sweetness. Balancing the sweetness with a little savory are the leeks, tomatoes, and garlic.
The recipe calls for crumbled Stilton cheese, but any bleu cheese will do. We also enjoy it with some chopped walnuts and a little bacon or crispy prosciutto doesn’t hurt either :)
Roasted Pear-Butternut Soup
~2 pears, peeled, quartered and cored
~2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 2-inch chunks
~2 medium tomatoes, cored and quartered (I used 3 since mine were small)
~1 large leek, pale green and white parts only, halved lengthwise (I use 2 leeks, it also makes everything easy to remember since all the quantities are two’s :)
~2 cloves garlic
~Extra Virgin Olive Oil
~Salt & Pepper, to taste
~4 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
~crumbled Stilton or other blue-veined cheese
~Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
~Combine pears, squash, tomatoes, leek, garlic, oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl; toss to coat. Spread evenly on two large rimmed baking sheets. Roast, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. (Don’t be afraid of the charred bits from roasting, that’s added flavor.)
*Place half the vegetables and 2 cups broth in a blender; puree until smooth. Transfer to a large stock pot. Puree the remaining vegetables and 2 cups broth. Add to the pan.
Cook the soup over medium-low heat, stirring, until hot, about 10 minutes.
*I add the roasted vegetables to my already hot chicken stock in a dutch oven and use my immersion blender. The soup is done in minutes, with no worries that your blender will be exploding hot soup and with MUCH less clean up.
Adjust this recipe to your taste buds or pantry by adding an extra tomato, or pear, and even a couple of additional cloves of garlic since it’s mellow from roasting. You can substitute vegetable stock and add more or less stock, depending on how thick you want your soup. You can also harvest some tiger stripe pumpkins and hollow them out for a bowl~ they’re the right size for an appetizer serving and keep the soup nice and warm!
You can find a printable recipe for the soup, here.
Harvest of Gray Details:
Plates-Royal Stafford Harvest Hayride, The Blacksmith’s Forge/ HomeGoods
Goblets/ Mikasa French Countryside
Napkins/Tuesday Morning
Chargers & Flatware/Pottery Barn
Coverlet-Quilt/ Kohl’s
Very pretty Mary! I love the scenes on those great dishes and the soup sounds perfect for fall! Have a great week:@)
Yummy-good eats lakeside! The recipe sounds wonderful, and I love the gray tables cape, Mary. So pretty, and the china pattern is perfect for autumn!
xo,
RJ
You find the best things at Home Goods! Love the Royal Stafford plates. One of my favorite soups in Butternut Squash. I usually prepare mine with apple, but this time I’m going to try your recipe. Beautiful fall with the blue pumpkins.
Enjoy your time by the lake as I’m betting it won’t be too long until you have to go inside. I love the dishes. Were you able to get many of them? This summer’s visits to TJ Maax provided no wonderful new finds, but I don’t know where I’d put another dish!
Mary, this just proves that you are equally at talented creating on the stove as you on on a table. Have to try this soup. Roasted pears and squash…..yummmmmm! The pumpkins are perfect with the Stafford plates. I have the same plates. Will need to remember pairing them with the wonderful gray pumpkins. I bought one of the grays this season to add in the mix. Love the look!
Cool here this morning! Enjoy your week………Sarah
Grey is my favorite color on me and now you have gone and converted me to it on a tablescape. Well done. I adore those chubby grey pumpkins. xo, olive
Your table is beautiful and that soup looks delicious! Going to have to try your recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Miss Bloomers
looks so delish and hardy, such a different combo by adding tomatoes and bacon, i always love the smooth sweet taste of butternut and pear au natural, but i know my husband would love this heartier combo for a real mans size meal~
funny you call them gray, i call them blue for the beach ;-)
We eat a lot of soups…although I like all kinds, I prefer cream soups and butternut (or kabocha) squash are favorites…I too roast them first. will have to try adding the pears.
BTW, I made a delicious creamy pumpkin ‘sauce’ to go with butternut squash filled ravioli a couple of nights ago…got the ravioli at Costco, but made the sauce from scratch…delicious!
Lovely table. Sedate and yet vibrant….Another winner, Mary!
I should know better and stop clicking on food thumbnails at the link parties when I’m hungry … but this recipe looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing and thanks for the inspiration!
:)
Linda
This is so very lovely. The grey pumpkins are wonderful and those dishes…gorgeous!
Hi, Mary! I have never been able to do that squash bowl!!! I think I’m just so squeamish about scooping out the center. Yes, weird. That’s me! It looks so cool, though! I LOVE your gray pumpkins!!! Wow……so different! They are perfect paired with your Royal Stafford! You have an amazing collection of quilts in so many different colors and patterns, too. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be there right now. MUCH colder here in the Midwest with temps dipping into the mid-20s last night. Brrrrrrr!!! Sunshine today, though, after a rainy Sunday, so all is right with the world! Take care!
This sounds {and looks} amazing! I will be adding this to our menu in very near future! Soups are are one of my favorite parts of the chilly weather season. Thank you for sharing.
Jo
What beautiful scenery and table, Mary! I love those gray Cinderella pumpkins! Sadly, all of my pumpkins have bit the dust already because of the squirrels nibbling on them.
Your soup looks so delicious! I use that same brand of chicken stock but now I buy their no salt added version.This is a soup I would love to try making.
I so enjoy your posts. I look forward to seeing the pictures as well as the recipes that you share. You have a beautiful water setting. We here in Southern Texas don’t have much of a season change so it is good to see yours. Thanks for sharing.
As is usual, I feel as if I have been looking at a magazine. The table is gorgeous, and that soup looks delicious. I’m going to pin that and try it. I think my husband would love it.
Your soup looks so appetizing and tantalizing in those hollowed out mini-pumpkins! Must make it soon!
Wow! That soup sounds really good Mary! We will have to give that a try!! Your pictures always make our eyes light up!! Hugs to you and Chloe and Gracie!!
xo
Jeanne, Chloe and LadyBug
I would like permission to use photos for blogging. Thank you for a response. Patty K
Looks amazing, Mary! Table and soup!
Had to pin that last photo! It is beautiful!! Thanks!
MMM, this soup sounds awesome!!! Thanks!!!
Oh my goodness Mary!!…I so love the tables you create by the water…the colors are so fantastic and I am drooling over those plates!!….Incredible, incredible!!….
Oh gosh, your soup looks delicious..perfect for a Fall or Winter day. Love your blue/gray tablescape with the quilt. I’m always amazed at the things you find at Kohl’s. I don’t seem to be so lucky at ours…or probably it’s that I just don’t have your eye. :)
Beautiful! This brings back so many memories. When my sons were small, I gilded our pumpkins for Halloween, and some wild teens smushed them. I felt a little smushed myself. :-) Hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Tomatoes, pears, and pumpkin what a interesting combination of ingredients…can’t wait to try your soup. Would love it if you’d share this today on my foodie friday party.
What a beautiful table! I love the dishes and the food looks delicious too!
Beautiful and that soup! YUM! Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for joining me at HSH!
Sherry