PEAR, CELERY, STILTON & WALNUT SOUP (by Maman)


Maman has always loved making desserts with pears but also loved trying different kind of savory dishes with pears... this was true until the day she tried a pear and spinach gratin which, my sisters and my dad, really did NOT like. For some reason, this dish stayed in our minds as Maman's one and only culinary 'faux pas'. So since then, she's never really ventured into savory dishes based with pears until this week... and it's DELICIOUS. Try this pear, celery, Stilton cheese and walnut soup - Bon appetit!
Serves 4 l Difficulty: easy l Prep time: 20min l Total time: 60min
INGREDIENTS
2 celeriac (also called celery root), large (450g)
3 pears
1 shallot (small)
2 tablespoons butter (25g)
4.5 cups water (1 liter)
1 cup Stilton cheese, chopped (120g)
2 cups walnuts, chopped (20g)
Fresh parsley
Salt & pepper
STEPS
1. Chop celeriac in 1 inch pieces. Peel and cut pears into dices.
2. In a sauce pan, sauté the minced shallot into the butter for 2 minutes. Add the celery and pears and continue to cook for 5 minutes at low fire. Pour the 4.5 cups of water into the mix, cover the sauce pan and let cook for 25 minutes.
3. Once it's all cooked, add half of the stilton cheese and mix it into a smooth soup.
4. Serve the soup into individual bowls with the other half of the Stilton cheese separated across the 4 bowls. Add pepper (and salt, if necessary but the cheese already makes it salty).
5. Top each bowl with fresh parsley and chunks of walnuts.