Community Pick
Sweet Potato & Pear Soup
"This is a delicious soup with a truly different taste and texture from any other soups I have eaten or made. It is nutritious and healthy for day-to-day eating and is also ideal for dinner parties. Be ready to be asked for the recipe! It reheats well, including in the microwave, and makes a great lunch to take to work. It also freezes well, so it's worth making a large quantity when you make it, so that you have some to freeze. Like most soup recipes it is easy to modify to suit your personal preferences. I first came across the basic recipe in two different Murdoch Books publications: Entertaining: Quick Short Recipes and Bowl Food: the new comfort food for people on the move. The first time I made it, the fresh pears at the greengrocers were not yet ripe and I was impatient to try the recipe! So I used canned pears (minus the pear juice, some of which I drank while making the soup). Because the soup was so delicious using the canned pears, I have continued to use them each time I have made this soup. As a garlic lover, I have so far refrained from adding garlic but with winter approaching - for those of us who are down under - I intend to add some next time I make this soup."
photo by alenafoodphoto
- Ready In:
- 1hr 25mins
- Ingredients:
- 8
- Serves:
-
8-10
ingredients
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons butter
- 2 yellow onions, finely chopped
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 pears, peeled,cored and diced or (15 ounce) cans pears, without juice
- 6 -8 cups chicken broth or 6 -8 cups vegetable broth
- 1 -2 cup white wine (optional)
- 1 -2 cup Greek yogurt, to taste
- chopped of fresh mint or parsley, to garnish
directions
- Melt the butter in a large pot over a medium heat, and sauté onion for 2-3 minutes until softened but not brown.
- Add the diced sweet potato and diced pear, and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
- If using canned pears, only sauté the diced sweet potato at this stage and add the pears later.
- Add the chicken broth to the pot, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes, or until the sweet potato (and pears) are soft.
- If including wine in your soup, add this in the last 10 minutes while the soup is simmering.
- Cool the soup for about 30 minutes.
- If using canned pears, drain these well, reserve the juice and add the pears now.
- They will help to cool down the soup.
- There is no need to chop the pears as the soup is about to be processed.
- In batches, process the chicken broth, sweet potatoes and pears until smooth in a blender or a food processor.
- Adjust the thickness of the soup so that it is to your liking by adding either more pears or some of the reserved pear juice, or more wine.
- Return the soup to the pot.
- If serving straight away: gently reheat, without bringing to the boil, stir in a swirl of yogurt and garnish with fresh mint or parsley.
- If serving later: refrigerate after processing.
- If taking to work for lunch: take the required quantity of yogurt in a separate container and spoon onto soup after it has been heated in the microwave.
- If freezing: freeze after processing.
- When ready to serve, defrost, gently reheat, without bringing to the boil, stir in a swirl of yogurt and garnish with fresh mint or parsley.
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Reviews
-
Tasty and healthy. I followed the directions except for the white wine. Very different and of course, slightly sweet. Very good with crusty bread. The second bowl I added some hot sauce, YUMMY. Made for PotLuck Tag 09. Thank you. -
Delicious! I made with vegetable broth and some dry sherry that I had lying around, then also tossed some bleu d'auvergne into the bowl while the soup was still hot. Pears and blue cheese are always a good combination. I was surprised that no other seasoning was needed! -
After reading the other reviews, when I made this recipe I cut it in half & minced a clove of garlic to include in this VERY, VERY TASTY SOUP! Definitely a recipe I want to make for company another time! Thanks for posting it! [Tagged, made & reviewed in Please Review My Recipe] -
Different, beautiful and very tasty! I followed the recipe and did use fresh pears and the wine ( one of those single serve bottles). I thought the wine made the soup taste even sweeter (when it is sweet to begin with). I might reduce the wine next time. I have only been using wine in food prep for about 8 months now so maybe I picked the wrong kind (I chose dry chardonay). I jumped the gun and used 8 cups of vegi broth to start with so my soup was very runny. Definetly will use 5-6 cups next time as I enjoy thicker soups. Even with my cooking hiccups as I am still a fairly new chef... This was a great soup! Thanks bluemoon downunder! When I want to make unique hidden treasures to wow my guests I always browse thought your recipes! -
Wow, so tasty! I used a homemade chicken stock which I think really made a difference. I also added the wine. I used fresh pears. A delicious recipe.
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Tweaks
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Yummy!! I only made 1/2 a batch b/c I only had one can of pears. I used a dark orange sweet potato and the soup has a wonderful, almost pink-orange color. I added a couple of tablespoons of dry sherry instead of the wine and used a stick blender to puree. Fabulous. The baby had some too. :) I'll be making this again and next time I'll make a full batch. I put the leftovers in the freezer, so I'll update my review later.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
July 2008 update: VERY happy to be back on Zaar after about a two year absence due to having had no internet connection at home, and having been too unwell for a time so that getting re-connected wasn't even a priority!
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<br>And really looking forward to getting back into the Zaar world and connecting again with the many wonderful people I knew before, and new people, of course!
