Warming Up with Butternut Squash & Pear Soup

During the recent cold-ish front, I found myself craving soup. Not having pre-planned, I had to forage through what I'd bought at the market. So, I had 1 butternut squash, pears, and an onion. Hmmmmm...

I'd heard of pairing butternut squash and apples, but not pears. I needed to make sure I wasn't about to create a massive disaster. Time to hit the internet.

Fortunately, my complete addiction to the Food Network paid off and I found this great recipe for Butternut Squash & Pear Soup from Dave Lieberman. It was easy and very flavorful with a little bit of a tart bite from the pears. I will definitely be making this again.

There's another cold-ish front around the corner. Grab your squash and pears at the market this weekend.

Butternut Squash & Pear Soup

from Dave Lieberman of Food Network

4 tablespoons butter(personal note: I only used 2 tablespoons butter)

2 medium onions, diced (personal note: I only had one onion so that's what I used and it was fine)

1 medium butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

4 pears, peeled and chopped into roughly 1-inch pieces

1-quart low sodium chicken stock, or enough to cover

1 sprig rosemary

Heavy cream

Salt, freshly ground black pepper and granulated sugar

In a 4-quart saucepan melt the butter over medium-high heat, and add and sweat the onions. Add squash and pears and sweat those too a bit. Pour in the stock, enough to submerge solids. Add sprig of rosemary and bring to a simmer and cook until squash is fork tender about 15 to 18 minutes. Remove rosemary. Puree with immersion blender. Add a touch of cream and season, to taste.

(Note: If you don't have an immersion blender, you can put the ingredients in a regular blender or food processor, just be careful with the hot ingredients.)