Pear, Bacon, and Bleu Cheese Soup

 

    I am a firm believer that food does not need to be pretentious to be delicious. I also just put gold leaf in my soup. Let me explain. First off, welcome to this week's Soup Saturday Swappers where the theme is Elegant First Course Soups. To me, nothing is more elegant than cheese. Especially if that cheese is blue cheese paired with pears and pancetta. Could that winning combination be turned into soup? I thought it was worth checking out. But, spoiler alert, it's divine. This recipe is loosely adapted from Food 52. However I switched some of the herbs, double the pear and reduced the potato, and of course, added the gold leaf. 

    So what does a pear soup taste like? It's the perfect balance, equal parts, sweet and savory without either side being dominant. It's lightly herby and lightly pear while both being distinctly there. I wanted to make sure it wasn't a smoothie in disguise and the herbs make sure it isn't. In short, it's pretty much my new favorite thing ever. It's light, it's dreamy, and it's oh so very elegant. 

    Cheese, a nice blue cheese is what makes this soup pop. The soup is so smooth and mellow and the crispy, salty, bacon and the pungent bleu cheese add a delightful little pop. I prefer a smooth, mellow, bleu cheese. It's still pungent and will pop, but it won't jar. I really like St. Agur, well, all the time, but it's perfect for this. 

    Want some great ideas for other elegant soups? Check out what the rest of the Soup Saturday Swappers group created for this

• Sneha’s Recipe: Cheeseburger Soup for One 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Creamy Leek Soup with Shoestring Potatoes 
• Making Miracles: French Onion Potato Soup 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Leek and Celery Root Soup 
• Pandemonium Noshery: Pear and Blue Cheese Soup 
• Palatable Pastime: Shrimp in Tomato Saffron Broth

Pear Soup Recipe

2 strips thick-cut bacon, cubed

2 Tbsp. butter

3 small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped

1/2 carrot, chopped

8 large pears, peeled and chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

4 c. water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

3/4 tsp. salt

dash thyme

1 bay leaf

dash white pepper

Bacon bits

Blue Cheese

Gold Leaf

    Add the minced bacon to a pan and cook over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon bits from the pan and set aside.  Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, just until starting to soften. Add the potatoes and carrots and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes. 

    Add six of the pears and brown sugar to the pan and cook, stirring, until the pears cook some and start to break down in the pan. Add the water, chicken bouillon, salt, thyme, bay leaf, and white pepper. Simmer for 20 - 25 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are tender. 

    Place the soup ingredients and remaining pears in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust for sweetness and salt, you want them to be perfectly balanced. Add more and needed. 

    Pour the soup into individual bowls and top with reserved bacon, crumbled blue cheese, and gold leaf if using. Serve immediately.