Roasted Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

Looks like I'm in a bad situation now. Not only am I inundated with vegetables from my Farm Share baskets, but now the fruit is coming in off the trees! It's too much! Souping and jarring and blanching and freezing is taking over my life. I glanced into my kitchen this morning and there just happened to be a butternut squash sitting on the counter alongside 2 pears. So I decided I was going to marry them! It turned out to be wonderfully delicious and so easy. So let's make some soup!

You'll need:
1 good sized Butternut Squash
2 pears, peeled and diced
1 chopped onion
chicken or vegetable broth - about 3 cups
allspice
nutmeg
butter
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups of cream or half and half

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil. Split the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. I always have a hard time cutting squash, so I put it in the microwave for a minute first and that makes the job easier. Put a tablespoon of butter into the center of each half and sprinkle them with salt, pepper, nutmeg (go easy) and allspice. Bake for an hour until they're soft. Your house will smell heavenly! Remove from the oven and let them cool down.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a big soup pot and sauté the onions and pears for about 5 minutes until they're soft. Season with salt and pepper and a bit more allspice. Scoop out the squash halves into your sauté being sure to get all the melted butter into the pot as well. Add enough broth to cover and simmer for about 20 - 30 minutes until the pears are soft. Puree in a blender or with an immersion blender. Whisk in your cream and bring up just to a simmer. Taste for seasoning and add salt or pepper if needed. And that's it. Delish! Garnish with a bit of fresh coriander and a swirl of good quality olive oil.