By Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating
1 large winter squash (butternut, autumn crown, kabocha, sugar pumpkin, etc.,)
1 medium or large onion, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1-2 pears, cored and diced
2 tablespoons dried sage, crumbled or 5 leaves fresh, chopped
1 quart vegetable broth
1/2 cup half-n-half, heavy cream or coconut milk (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1. In a large pot over medium heat, sautee the onion in the olive oil until translucent (2-3) minutes, then add the garlic and sage and cook for another 1-2 minutes until it begins to smell amazing but before it starts to brown. Add the cubed squash and pear and sautee for another 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, until the squash is cooked through and soft when poked with a fork. Turn the heat off, add the cream or coconut milk and puree the soup using an immersion hand blender. If you do not already have one of these wonderful tools (more on why I love mine), please get one! In the meantime, you can either purée the soup in batches in your blender (which is a pain, in my opinion) or just mash it with a potato masher if you don't care about having a really smooth soup.
3. Serve warm topped with a dollop of sour cream (though that is optional if you do not eat dairy, of course!) Especially nice when accompanied with some brown rice or some toast with butter.
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