Celery Pear Soup

Yesterday’s post was about Christmas, so it’s only fitting that tonight I would post about Hanukkah. A few nights ago, night two of Hanukkah, to be exact, I wandered up to my good friends apartment (a whole 3 floors up from my apartment. Boy, life is hard…) with some stuffed squash (I’ll post the recipe soon. Scouts honor. ) and a celery pear soup. I know, I know, it sounds weird. But there was celery root in the stuffing of the squash, and a sweet soup sounded like an ideal pairing with the earthiness of squash, wild rice, mushrooms and celery root. The soup was light, sweet and spicy with after notes of fall with the pear and celery subtly dancing. We lit the menorah, drank some red wine, chowed down, and, as always when good friends get together, our conversations lasted into the wee hours of the morning. Good food and wine will do that.

 

Celery Pear Soup

(Based on this recipe from CHOW)

 

1 tablespoon earth balance

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup coarsely chopped shallots

3/4 cups peeled, coarsely chopped ripe Bartlett pear

2 cups coarsely chopped celery

½ tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves

2 cups vegetable bouillon, plus 1 cup water

1 tsp sel de gris

1 tsp white pepper

½ tsp chili powder

In a medium pot over medium heat, melt margarine until foaming. Add olive oil, shallots, and pear, season with chili, salt and ground white pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add celery and thyme, and cook until the celery has just started to soften, about 12 minutes. Add broth and water and simmer until celery is tender, about 20 minutes. Using a blender, purée soup in batches until smooth. Return soup to the stove to reheat. Add more salt and pepper if needed