Butternut Squash and Pear Soup with Vanilla Bean Specks

The first little sniffles and coughs of the season have started to resonate through the house.  My kids, however, are really tired of chicken noodle soup from previous years.  So this fall, I had resolved to introduce some new soups into the recipe stash.

This is largely lifted from Molly Wizenberg's version of Butternut and Pear Soup with Cider and Vanilla Bean, except I didn't use any cider and I didn't use a separate pan to infuse the vanilla bean into the cream.  My sink was already full of dirty dishes...I didn't need to introduce a saucepan to the growing pile.

3 Tbs olive oil


1 2-lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces (4 generous cups)


2 firm-ripe pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)


1 medium yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped


3 cups good-quality chicken broth


½ tsp salt


½ cup half-and-half (I used 1/2 cream and 1/2 milk)


1 vanilla bean


Fresh chives, finely chopped, for garnish

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-low heat. Add the squash, pears, and onion, stir to coat with oil, and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, until the onion is soft and transparent and the pears are starting to fall apart.

Add the broth and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.  Then reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer the mixture, partially covered, for about 30 minutes, until the squash is tender.

Puree a third of the mixture in a food processor (or use an immersion blender).  Once it's pureed, then add another third, puree, and then the final third.  I like to make sure that the feeding tube at the top of the processor is open so the steam from the hot liquid can escape.   (I don't know what happens if you process an entire pot's worth of hot liquid in one shot without a vent; it seems like a bad idea).

Before you put the soup back into the pot, pour the half-and-half (or cream and milk) into the pot (don't worry about the remains of squash and onions left in the pot...this is all going to become soup anyway).  Scrape the contents of a vanilla pod into the half-and-half and warm until it is steaming and smells heavenly.  (You can also chuck the vanilla pod itself into the half-and-half while this is happening, just remember to take it out before you serve it).

Pour the soup back into the pot and stir.  Serve, garnished with chives.  You can also use a little more cream to make a decoration on the soup (like a happy face or a flower to cheer up a sniffly little sweetie).  I usually just put a little bit in a Ziploc bag, snip off a corner with scissors, and squirt onto the soup.  You'd be surprised how eager your kids are to eat something with a happy face on it.  

Yield: 4-5 servings