Happy October everyone!!!  Fall is in the air – the leaves are turning beautiful hues of orange, yellow and red, the air is crisp and Starbucks has it’s fall lattes ready to go … Pumpkin Spice, Salted Caramel and Toasted Graham oh my! 😀

Fall is my favourite season, boots, leggings, scarves and cozy sweaters – I’m all about that life!  So in honour of fall, I have decided to post some easy and delicious recipes that I like to call #SoupSeries.  Throughout the months of October and November, I’ll be posting some of my favourite go-to soup recipes that help keep me and my family cozy as we head into the colder season.

To kick-it all off, I decided to start with a soup which is inspired by Stoney’s Bread Company located in downtown Oakville.  If you’ve never been here, you need to check them out.  They have amazing sandwiches (FYI try the Alsacian Chicken …. TO DIE FOR!!!), great salads, pizzas and of course soups … Roasted Butternut Squash & Pear to be exact.  Now Stoney’s isn’t exactly a hop, skip and a jump from my house, so I can’t just stroll in whenever I want to have this soup (especially during the winter).  So I decided to put the old noggin to work and decipher the soup – and let me tell you – it’s pretty darn close!

I start off with by chopping up 1 large leek, put them in a bowl of cold water and separate the layers.  The reason that you do this is to release any dirt that is stuck between the layers.  As you run your fingers through the leeks, all of the dirt and grit will fall to the bottom and the clean leeks will stay floating on the top.

Next I take a medium butternut squash and peel it using a potato peeler.  I then cut it lengthwise so that I can scoop out all of the seeds using a spoon and cut the squash into 1″ cubes.

After that, I take 2 small to medium size pears and do the same thing (peel, core and chop).

Once you have all of your ingredients prepped you pop them into your crockpot.  Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, a quart (1 box) of vegetable or chicken stock, 1 cinnamon stick, 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.

Give everything a good mix to incorporate all of the spices and set your crockpot on high for 4 hours and literally walk away.  Let the crockpot do all the work as you go on about your day.

As everything cooks down, your house will smell AH-MAZING!!  The sweet aroma of brown sugar, caramelizing butternut squash and spicy cinnamon – delish!

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Once everything is tender, I remove the cinnamon stick and use an immersion blender to puree the soup.  If you find that the soup is too thick, simply add a little more stock or water to help thin it out and add more s&p if needed.

And that is it – super simple and absolutely delicious.  I usually serve this up with some homemade crostini’s that I make by slicing a French baguette, brushing the top with olive oil and sprinkling with sea salt and black pepper.  Pop them under the broiler for a few minutes and you’re good to go!

I store the leftovers in a mason jar and it stays good in the refrigerator for 3 days or you can freeze it for a month!  This soup is so good, that I also reserve some in small 4oz containers for baby Z.

Now if you’re thinking, Romessa, I don’t have a crockpot!!?!?!  No worries!!!  Just coat the bottom of a large pot in olive oil, cook down the leeks until they are translucent, add in the squash, pear, spices and stock and cook over medium-high until everything is tender.  Easy as can be. 🙂

In the past, I’ve made this soup by pre-roasting the squash in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes with olive oil, salt and pepper before putting it in the crockpot.  It adds a layer of smokiness and really intensifies both the colour and flavour of the soup.  Also, if you don’t have pears on hand don’t worry about it.  I’ve made this soup with both Granny Smith and Royal Gala apples as well.  The point of this recipe is to be inspired and let the flavours guide you.

So there you have it folks, Butternut Squash & Pear Soup, a staple in my house.  If you try this recipe out, let me know how it goes and if you have any go-to soup recipes that I need to try, leave a comment down below and they may make it on the blog.  Let me know what you think and don’t forget to tag me using the hash tag #SoupSeries to share your fall favourites!

Until next time!

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