Gouda and Pear Soup

If only the Gracious Bowl had our complete attention for 40-50 hours each week. The month of March flew by with little time for soup and even less time for blogging. We'd been going pretty strong for awhile with pretty regular posts, but then March Madness began... and I'm not talking Carolina hoops here. The past several weeks were mostly a whirlwind of getting up, heading to the office, getting home late, going to bed and getting up to do it all over again. Work started creeping into weekends too--and yes, that's an S for plural. We watched the calendar fly by as a date for soup swap kept being pushed back another week, another week, and yet another. Suddenly spring was here, cherry blossoms were blooming, and tourist season in DC had officially begun. I fear the swap may have be on hold until...October?

I'm not complaining. I'm pleased to have a job that I enjoy in city I love. I know my priorities. It's just draining when it begins to interfere with any and all free time and you start putting the other things you love, like cooking and blogging aside. Needless to say, the last thing I wanted to do at home was get back online after spending my long hours at work planted in front of two monitors. All I wanted to do when I stepped foot in the door was turn into a vegetable for a couple of hours, then go to sleep. .

Lucky for me, overtime at work is not a mainstay. It comes and goes in waves and I can almost always see the horizon in the distance. I'm also fortunate to have an understanding boss who's flexible and encourages a work/life balance.

My segue with all this is... when you know you have a busy week ahead of you, soup is a great option for getting a head start. If you can find an hour or two to make it on Sunday, then you're set for the next few days with a quick lunch or dinner that need only a zap in the microwave. That is, if you don't mind repeating a meal. While some of us can eat the same thing day in and day out for a week, others (ahem, Margaret!) have to be coaxed into eating any leftovers beyond the next day. Whatever your tolerance for a certain dish, you should be sure you try this recipe at least once.

Pear and Gouda Soup
with toasted walnut-cranberry salsa

2 ripe pears, cored, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp minced fresh ginger 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
4 oz baby Gouda cheese, cut into small pieces (about 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup pure apple juice or sweet white wine
salt and ground white pepper to taste
freshly grated nutmeg for garnish

Walnut-Cranberry Salsa ingredients:
1/2 unpeeled red-skinned pear, cored and julienned
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp minced toasted walnuts
2 tbsp coarsely chopped dried cranberries
dash of freshly grated nutmeg

1. Combine the pears, vegetable stock, ginger, and nutmeg in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer until the pears are very tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2. While soup is simmering, make the salsa: stir together all the ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.

3. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour and stir until smooth, about 1 minute. (Do not let it brown.) Remove from the heat. Gradually whisk in the milk. Place the pan back on medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to simmer. Reduce the heat to low and stir constantly until thickened, about 4 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

4. Puree the pear mixture in a blender until smooth. Add to the cheese sauce and stir constantly over low heat until heated through. Gradually stir in the apple juice or wine and continue to heat, but do not let the soup come to a boil. Season to taste.

5. Top each serving with a sprinkling of nutmeg and a mound of salsa. Other garnish options include croutons on the side for dipping or extra-thin slices of gouda (a vegetable peeler works best).

Recipe courtesy of Paulette Mitchell's A Beautiful Bowl of Soup.

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

I know it's been over a week since we last posted a soup. But I just couldn't figure out what on earth to do with this butternut squash that I bought last week.

See, every year when winter squash come into season I gravitate towards it at the grocery store. I always want to make something new with it, something different, something exotic. But then I assume that it will take way too long to cook, or that if I try to cut into it I might lose a finger, or that it will be more trouble than it's worth. But of course I always buy one anyway. I love a challenge!

Butternut squash has a really thick skin that I find difficult to peel, so I figured the easiest way to deal with this sucker was to leave the skin on, cut it in quarters, de-seed it, season it and chuck it in the oven. It took awhile to cook but I was able to leave it alone and check on it once in a while until it was tender. After peeling the skin away from the flesh, I put it in the fridge and made the soup with it the next day.

What about the exotic part, you ask? Now, I think that squash can be pretty bland on it's own. But a little curry powder changes everything! And since I like a little sweet with my spicy, I throw in a pear to sweeten things up (a little trick I learned from a favorite vegetarian cookbook author of mine named Anna Thomas.)

Since all the "hard" work was done the night before, the rest of the soup only took about 20 minutes to prepare! If you like soup a little bit spicy and a little bit sweet, this one's a keeper!

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup
Serves 4-6

1 medium-sized butternut squash
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 bartlett pear, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp powdered ginger (try fresh if you have it!)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 good turns on the black pepper mill
salt to taste
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
cilantro for garnish

1. Quarter and seed the squash and rub with olive oil, salt and pepper then roast at 400 degrees until soft, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool and scoop out the flesh. (You can do this up to 3 days ahead of time.)

2. Saute the onion and pear until very soft, about 10 minutes. Add the curry, cinnamon, and ginger and let them toast for a minute, then add the squash. Add the chicken or vegetable broth and let it all simmer for another 10 minutes.

3. Puree the soup with an immersion blender (my preferred method) or in a blender (but be careful to do it in small batches...splattering liquids are HOT!) Add the cream and stir.

4. Feel free to garnish with cilantro and a little more cream.