Mealtime Magic: Sweet Potato Pear Soup

For most home cooks, a simple but still delicious meal with a minimum of fuss and ingredients is an everyday necessity. However, there are also times when a recipe calls for something different, maybe a bit out of the ordinary. Yet few home cooks have the time to source and try new variations to favorite recipes.  

In her latest cookbook, Variations, Daniella Silver, author of the best-selling Silver Platter series of cookbooks, has created recipes that use basic, simple ingredients and provides variations that present a different way to showcase the main recipe.  For example, a chicken dish is shown how to become a main or as an appetizer, a salad can be prepared as family-styled or plated individually by serving it in a pretty presentation or dish, and a batch of cookies can also become ice cream sandwiches.  To Daniella, the possibilities are endless.

Each recipe in the book includes a “variation” of that recipe. These variations present a different way to showcase the main recipe; they often include additional ingredients, shown in bold type, to make a completely new dish. The photo on each page displays both the main recipe and the variation, so home cooks can see how each of them will look after they have been prepared. 

Sweet Potato Pear Soup
Pareve I Passover I gluten-free I freezes well I yields 8-10 servings

2 Tbsp extra light olive oil1 large onion, diced
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tsp)
kosher salt
black pepper
4 large sweet potatoes - peeled and chopped
3 Asian or Bosc pears - peeled and chopped
1 tsp sweet paprika
pinch dried thyme
5-6 cups water or vegetable broth

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic, salt, and pepper; sauté for 8-10 minutes, until golden. 

Add sweet potatoes, pears, paprika, thyme, and water. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat. Simmer, partially covered, for 40-45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; let cool slightly.

Using an immersion blender, process soup until smooth. If soup is too thick, add a little water. Adjust seasonings to taste. 

Variation
cinnamon sugar pears - Prepare soup as directed. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a cooking rack or pizza tray with nonstick cooking spray. Slice 2 additional pears very thinly (do not peel). Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon on both sides. Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes until golden. Garnish the soup with baked pears or sprinkle soup with thyme leaves. 

Recipe/Photo reprinted with permission from
Variations by Daniella Silver
Artscroll/Shaar Press/September 2019