Recipe: New England Pear Soup with Chervil and Creme Fraiche

(Vegetarian, Gluten-free)

This warm pear soup is light and elegant. It's the perfect way to dress up lovely fall pears. My husband calls it "Divine!"

Ingredients: 

3 Tbsp. lemon juice
6 large pears (Comice, Anjou, Bartlett, etc. - just under-ripe is perfect because they'll be firm enough to work with easily)
3 Tbsp. sunflower oil (or other mild flavored oil, such as safflower or canola, try Spectrum)
1 1/2 large shallots, minced (1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp.)
3 Tbsp. honey
3 cups organic vegetable broth
white pepper (black pepper will NOT do for this)
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh chervil, finely minced
Creme Fraiche (try Bellwether Farms)

Directions: 

Put lemon juice in a bowl. Peel, core, and dice pears into 1-inch chunks, adding to the bowl and tossing them in lemon juice as you work, to prevent pears from turning brown.

Heat sunflower oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook 2 minutes, stirring often. Add pears and drizzle with honey. Cook 10 minutes, stirring often.

Transfer pears to a food processor and pulse. Pulsing will prevent them from overflowing. Once pears are almost smooth, run food processor about 1 minute until completely pureed.

Return puree to pan, add broth and stir to combine thoroughly. Add a few turns of freshly ground white pepper, (or a couple pinches if it's already ground). Stir in chervil. Heat soup to just below simmering point, do not boil.

Remove from heat, ladle into bowls and top each with 1 Tbsp. creme fraiche. Swirl through soup gently.

Makes 4-6 servings.