We are still enjoying this year’s pears! Besides the soup below which was featured in the Berkshire Eagle this past week, we’ve enjoyed pears in salads with blue cheese crumbles (with one fancy presentation in radicchio leaf cups), several baked goods with pears, including pear babka, and slices of pear over yogurt with granola and honey. I’m still planning to make one or two more things, perhaps a pear focaccia and/or pear preserves.

Meanwhile, I am pleased to report that after I brought this soup over to the friend who supplied our third box or pears (see story below), she texted me her empty bowl, wiped clean!

I LOVE A PEAR-ADE!

by Elizabeth Baer

My father, of blessed memory, used to send us Harry & David pears every year. So it feels sweet both literally and figuratively when a box appears on our doorstep. As soon as they arrive, I begin planning my yearly pear-ade of recipes, though a few get set aside for eating out of hand.

This year it is quite the embarrassment of riches because we have gotten three boxes! One was from my sister, the other from the machetunim (a Yiddish word for the in-laws of one’s child, i.e., my son’s wife’s parents). And then a friend of mine called because she had gotten a box and neither she nor her husband likes pears, and she wondered if I could use them.

I didn’t hesitate to accept, but I did ask if I could use some of the pears in her box to make something for them, like the yogurt cake with pear and chocolate from Food52 or the pear cake in Cucina Povera, a cookbook which my sister and brother-in-law gave me this past summer. My friend begged off both, saying her husband still wouldn’t eat them, and that she’d prefer not to have cake in the house. But I insisted I make something, so we decided that my butternut squash and pear soup might pass muster with them both, and would also freeze well.

My preference when making this soup is to roast the butternut squash first because I feel it concentrates the flavor a bit making for a richer taste. This aspect of the recipe is quite flexible as indicated in the various options below. You can buy peeled, cubed pieces, or an entire squash to peel and cube yourself. Or you can just cut a squash down the middle, scoop out the seeds, roast the halves face down on a half sheet pan, and scrape out the flesh once it’s cooked

Even though it’s delicious on its own, you can spiffy up this soup a bit with toasted seeds (which you can make if you’ve started with a whole squash), some spiced yogurt and chopped pistachios or a chipotle-maple crema drizzled on top.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND PEAR SOUP

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole butternut or other winter squash, about 2 pounds, peeled, seeded, and cut into large cubes or pre-peeled, pre-cut butternut squash, about 1-1½ pounds
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 small onion, diced
⅛ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 large pear or 2 small, 10-12 ounces, peeled and cubed, core discarded
¼ cup yogurt or sour cream (optional)
¼-½ teaspoon spices or herbs or other flavor, such as ground cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom; za’atar; sauce from chipotles in adobo (optional)
Chopped nuts or toasted squash seeds for garnish or maple syrup or honey to balance a spicy flavor in the yogurt/sour cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the pieces of squash in a baking dish, drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil, and sprinkle with half the salt. Roast for 30 minutes until easily pierced with a knife. This can be done ahead of time. Keep cooked squash in refrigerator until ready to make soup.

In a medium saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering and fragrant. Add the onion, the remaining salt and pepper, and sauté until the onions are soft and beginning to color.

Add the roasted squash pieces and broth, bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, combine the yogurt or sour cream with whatever spices, herbs, or flavors you desire. Some possible combinations include yogurt with spices (see above) or za’atar, or sour cream with sauce from chipotles in adobo and a bit of maple syrup

Add the pear to the soup, and purée until smooth with no chunks remaining. You can do this in the same pot with an immersion blender, in a food processor, or in a blender. If using a blender, remove the center portion of the lid and hold a folded towel or paper towel over the opening.

Portion the soup into bowls, and spoon or drizzle the yogurt/sour cream mixture on top. Garnish with nuts (chopped toasted pistachios in the photo here), toasted squash seeds, or an additional sprinkle of herbs.

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Pears, Pears, Everywhere! (Berkshire Eagle Column)