Roasted Butternut Squash and Pear Soup
A favorite fall soup, easy and full of flavor! Top with crumbled blue cheese, chopped walnuts and crispy prosciutto or crumbled bacon.
Servings: 8 servings
Equipment
- immersion or regular blender
- Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 2 pears peeled, quartered and cored
- 2 pounds butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 2 medium tomatoes cored and quartered
- 2 large leeks pale green and white parts only, halved lengthwise
- 2 cloves garlic
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock or substitute vegetable stock
- Optional toppings: crumbled Stilton or other blue-veined cheese, chopped walnuts,crispy prosciutto or crumbled bacon.
Instructions
- 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.
- *Alternatively, add the roasted vegetables to hot chicken stock in a dutch oven and use an immersion blender. The soup is done in minutes, with no worries of exploding hot soup from your blender and to minimize clean up.
- Cook the soup over medium-low heat, stirring, until hot, about 10 minutes.
- Serve with a garnish of crumbled blue cheese, chopped walnuts, crumbled bacon or crispy prosciutto.
Notes
- 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, thinning to your desired consistency.
- To save prep time, use cubed butternut squash, available in produce department of most grocery stores