Oh how I love soup season.
As I’ve mentioned before, I am not a huge fan of cold weather. I’m all for living in a place with the four seasons, and love the beauty of a freshly fallen snow. But when it comes to any form of shivering or a red nose, I would trade that for the sweltering summer heat anyday. I just do not like being cold! But alas, since I have chosen to make my home in the Midwest, I have learned to get through my winters. And one of the things I most look forward to is a warm bowl of homemade potato soup.
To me, potato soup is one of the ultimate comfort foods. It is hearty, creamy, simple, and above all…warm. :) But since my typical potato soups tend towards the super-savory side, I decided to mix in some fresh pears this week to try out a sweeter option. And lo and behold, it actually turned out really well! The pears were still fairly subtle, but I loved the contrast with the fresh earthy rosemary and the salty potato soup. And I added in some heavy cream at the end, but honestly, I felt like it tasted great without it too. So this could be vegetarian and vegan friendly if you would like.
What are some of your favorite soups to warm you up in the winter?
Potato Pear Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
- 1 large leek, white and light-green parts thinly sliced (dark green parts discarded)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 lbs. Russet potatoes, peeled and roughly diced
- 2 pears, cored and diced
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the white and light-green parts of the leek, and saute for 5 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, potatoes and pears and saute for an additional 2 minutes. Add broth and chopped fresh rosemary and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Or transfer to a blender in small batches and pulse until pureed.
- Return to saucepan and stir in heavy cream. Season generously with salt and freshly-cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
I’m not fan of the cold weather although I’m looking forward to the first snow.
I added once pear to my soup and loved it. Going to try your recipe as well. Thanks for sharing Ali
you SO need to come to Florida to defrost this winter!!! We’ll go to the beach, and you can brag to all your friends! ;)
What a great idea. I love rosemary and pears together. It looks so inviting, creamy, and soul warming. I am down for this anytime in the winter, which is fairly cold here, but not nearly as cold as the Midwest.
On a side note… We get to meet in California in April!
Love the simplicity of this soup – perfect for the holidays, too!
What a unique and awesome-sounding soup! I’m not a huge potato person, but combined with the pear, this sounds amazing!
I’m definitely not a big fan of cold weather too. That’s why I live in LA where it doesn’t go lower than 60 degrees! Love this soup though – it’s definitely comfort food at its best. And the pear in this is just genius!
Pear! Whoda thunk it? Love this idea…especially because I have some pears that need using in the fridge. Thanks for the note that it doesn’t really need the cream, too!
What a cool flavor combo! Sounds so interesting and yummy.
I’m a die-hard chicken chili girl in cold weather – I can’t get enough! I love, love, love your white chicken chili recipe!
This soup sounds awesome. Potato and pear are a great mix!
This sounds lovely and the addition of pear is a really nice touch!