in the kitchen

in the kitchen

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Chilled Pear Soup

Don't you think of September as an autumn month? Yet we get awfully hot days sometimes. September can be psychotic. Chilled pear soup is a great way to ease out of summer and into fall.
Chilled Pear Soup
3 large ripe pears, about 4 cups chopped
1/4 cup butter
1/2 to 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup half and half
1/3 cup apple juice

Quarter and peel pears. Put butter in a cool skillet and place on medium high heat. While butter melts, roughly chop pears. Add pears and ginger to hot butter. Cook for 7 or 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and pour into a glass bowl. Puree pears using a hand held blender. Stir in buttermilk, half and half, and juice. Cover tightly and chill for several hours. Garnish with raspberries or pomegranate seeds if desired.

Hints: I like to use Bartlett or Red pears. Be sure to use a skillet that is fairly wide so that the pears saute rather than boil in the butter, although once the juices come out of the pears, they will be boiling a bit. Use fresh buttermilk not dehydrated. White grape juice can be used instead of apple juice.  

I created this recipe after having Chilled Pear Soup at Windows on the Square. (Wow! that was a while ago!) It was fabulous-- delicate, creamy, not too sweet or tart. It took me several attempts to get close. I hope you like this one as much as I do.

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