Zucchini-Pear Soup Recipe

Click here to view and print the recipe for the Zucchini-Pear Soup that Dick Jordan served at today's "Final Exam" luncheon.

Dick used Red Bartlett Pears, but any pear variety should work. You could probably substitute leek for the onion, too.

The recipe calls for either chicken or vegetable stock; Dick used the latter.

The recipe says to saute the vegetables and pears in a skillet, then add broth to finish the cooking.  But if your skillet isn't deep, the broth may slop out.

To avoid making a mess in the kitchen, and the necessity of using a counter top blender or food processor to puree the soup, Dick suggests that you transfer the sauteed ingredient into a 6-8 quart pot before adding the broth, bring the soup to a boil, and then let it cool a bit (so you're not splashed with hot soup) before pureeing it with an immersion blender.

Check and adjust the seasoning when you're done. Dick added lemon juice to "brighten" the flavors.

The recipe makes about a quart and a half of soup (enough to fill about 10 of the small plastic cups Dick used to serve the soup at the "Final Exam"). Dick doubled the recipe to make enough to feed our hiking group.

Dick omitted the mint leaf garnish to speed up serving the soup after the hike, and instead, drizzled the soup with sour cream thinned with lemon juice.

You can serve this soup hot or chilled.