Searching the internet for inspiration and recipes for my three Twelve by 2012 meals, I came across a ton reveling in the new season and making use of some of fall’s best produce: pumpkin and squash.  There’s something so warm and comforting about these foods, and it was hard for me to narrow it down to just one recipe, but soup just seemed like the obvious choice.

I wasn’t completely satisfied by the results using this butternut squash recipe from Roost — the apple cider vinegar taste was still too overpowering for my liking, even after a long time spent reducing.  So the recipe I’m sharing with you below includes a smaller amount of the vinegar than in the original recipe.  Hopefully then the pear and vanilla flavors can shine through.

Also, make sure to start this soup well ahead of meal time. I’m not sure how long it should take, but the cooking time for me was about 2 hours, and we were really hungry by the time it was ready!

Butternut Squash Soup with Pear, Cider & Vanilla Bean

(Adapted from Roost)

• 3 TBS olive oil
• 1 2lb (~1 kg) butternut squash, peeled and seeded
• 2 ripe pears, peeled and coarsley chopped
• 1 yellow onion, coarsley chopped
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) apple cider vinegar
• 4 cups (~1 liter) vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup (125 g) half-and-half
• 1 vanilla bean, seedes scraped and pod reserved
• chives or pumpkin seeds for garnish

Heat the oil in a stockpot over medium-low heat. Add the squash, pears, and onion, stir to coat with oil, and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, until the onion is soft and transparent and the pears are starting to fall apart.

Here you add the cider and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the broth, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer the mixture, partially covered, for about 30 minutes, until the squash is tender.

I used our hand mixer to puree the soup until it was completely smooth, but a food processor or blender would also work. Season with salt. Continue to cook the soup over medium-low heat, uncovered, until it has reduced to about 1/2 to 1/3 of its original volume. Stir occasionally, and cook until it reaches the consistency you like.

After it has reduced, pour the half-in-half into the soup.  Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise into two long strips. Using the back of your knife, scrape the tiny black seeds out of the bean. Scoop the seeds and the bean halves into the soup. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove it from the heat, remove and discard the vanilla bean halves.

Serve with garnish.  The recipe recommends chives, but I used parsley because that’s all I could find at the store.  Roasted pumpkin seeds or croutons would probably be just as delicious.

Serves 4-5. Enjoy!