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" Sweet caramelized pears top a rich, delicious butternut squash soup. Recipe courtesy of  Candle 79. You can find more vegetarian recipes from Candle 79 in  The Candle Cafe Cookbook. SERVINGS INGREDIENTS 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 large leek, trimmed and rough chop 1 cinnamon stick 1 whole nutmeg cut in half 1 stalk lemongrass, rough chop 2 cardamom pods 1-inch piece fresh ginger, rough chop 1 dried chipotle pepper 1 small piece cheesecloth 2 large butternut squash, large dice 2 cups peeled chestnuts, fresh or frozen 2 tablespoons fresh sage 2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup 1 teaspoon salt, and more to taste if necessary For Caramelized Pear garnish: 2-3 pears, diced 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil (or a flavorless oil like canola or safflower) 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder 2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar PREPARATION 1. In large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add leeks and saut\u00E9 until soft, about 10 minutes. While leeks are saut\u00E9eing, place cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, lemongrass, cardamom pods, ginger and chipotle pepper in cheesecloth. Knot securely or tie with string and set aside. 2. Add butternut squash, chestnuts, cheesecloth pouch, sage and water to pot. Water should cover squash by about an inch to two inches. Allow to come to simmer and reduce heat to low. Cover pot and simmer for about 30-45 minutes or until squash is very tender and falls apart. Remove soup from heat. 3. While soup is cooling, in a saut\u00E9 pan over high heat, heat grapeseed oil. When oil is hot, add pears and saut\u00E9 for 5 minutes. Lower heat to medium and add maple syrup, cinnamon powder and balsamic vinegar. Continue to cook for another 10-15 minutes until pears are soft and vinegar has become syrupy and coats the pears. Set aside to cool. 4. Remove cheesecloth pouch from soup. Add maple syrup and 1 teaspoon salt to soup. With immersion blender (or a regular blender) puree soup until creamy. (Be very careful when pureeing hot soup in a regular blender. It&amp;#039;s best for it to cool slightly so it doesn&amp;#039;t make a mess.) If soup appears to be too thick, add water to achieve desired consistency. Reheat and add additional salt to taste, if necessary. 5. Garnish hot soup with caramelized pears. Enjoy! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.delish.com/cooking/a1124/butternut-squash-chestnut-soup-recipe/>