Celebrate the season with TASTE's Washington Pear & Sparkling Wine Soup Shots

December 14, 10:07 PMSeattle Food ExaminerTraca Savadogo

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TASTE's General Manager, Danielle Custer


On the hunt for an extraordinary dish with an off-the-charts "wow" factor? 

This is it. 

Award-winning Chef Danielle Custer shares her recipe for Washington Pear & Sparkling Wine Soup.  Serve the soup in shot glasses for an elegant passed appetizer, or for your holiday table, serve soup in bowls, garnished with zesty gingered pears. 

Not only does this dish deliver big on flavor, each component can be made in advance...leaving you free to enjoy the party!

For other recipe ideas see:
Sauteed Mushrooms with Truffle, Egg and Parmigiano
Winter Vegetable Gratin
Pan-seared Oysters with Grapefruite Sabayon
Roast Beet and Pomegranate Soup with Spiced Apple-mint Crema
Corn & Cheese Pudding
Saigon Cinnamon-spiced Plum & Blueberry Compote
Cranberry Gin & Tonic



Washington Pear & Sparkling Wine Soup Shots
with plum wine crème & chives

- Pear & Sparkling Wine Soup (recipe follows)
- Plum Wine Crème
- Chopped Chives
- Optional - Ginger Poached Pears (recipe follows)

Make the pear & sparkling wine soup either the day of or up to 3 days before serving and re-warm.

To make the plum wine crème, reduce plum wine in a small sauce pot slowly until reduce by ¾ and slightly syrupy. Cool completely and stir in sour cream. Chill and reserve.

Chop chives and reserve in damp paper towels until needed in the refrigerator.

The optional ginger poached pears can be made several days in advance.

To serve, ladle warm soup into small demi tass (espresso cups). Dollop a small spoonful of the plum wine crème on each cup. Garnish with a sprinkling of chive and optional diced ginger poached pear. Pass as a hors d’oeuvre set on buffet.

Washington Pear & Sparkling Wine Soup

Makes 36 soup shots as a hors d’oeuvre or 8-10 plated servings (about 3 quarts).

2 ounces bacon diced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup onion, peeled and minced

½ cup carrot, peeled and minced

½ cup celery, peeled and minced

1 cup leek, white part only, cleaned and minced

5 Washington pears, peeled, cored, and large dice (3 Bosc/2 D’Anju)

½ cup white wine (Riesling)

¾ cup NW sparkling wine (reserve ¼ cup to finish soup)

1 quart chicken stock (or 3 cups broth and 1 cup water)

1 small potato, peeled and small diced

1 cup heavy cream or half & half

Salt, white pepper and lemon juice to taste

In a large pot sauté the bacon and add the butter. Add the onion, carrot & celery and cook slowly until tender. Add leeks, pears, wine and ½ cup of the champagne. Cook for about 20 minutes. Add stock and diced potato and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 10 additional minutes. Add heavy cream and allow the soup to cool slightly. Purée the soup in small batches in a blender *(see cooks note). Cool and re-heat day of serving or immediately add pureed soup back into a clean pot and warm through. Season reheated soup with the remaining the sparkling wine, salt, freshly ground white pepper and lemon juice to taste before serving.

Cook’s Note:

Ø  * You may need to add more or less cream/stock to achieve desired consistency when blending.

Ø  This soup can be made vegetarian by omitting the bacon, increasing the butter by 1 tablespoon and using vegetable stock or broth.

Ginger Poached Pears

Poaching Liquid

3 ounces fresh ginger root

2 cups sugar syrup

½ cup water

½ vanilla bean, split and scraped

1½ ounces lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

¼ cup Poir Williams (pear brandy) or Apple Jack

Lemon water as needed

3-4 local NW pears

Peel the ginger root with a vegetable peeler and slice into rounds.

In a medium-large stainless steel or enamel saucepan, combine all the poaching liquid ingredients.  Peel & halve the pears lengthwise. Core out the seeds with a spoon submerge each half as it is finished into the poaching liquid.  Place a clean dishtowel or plate over the pears, on the surface of the liquid, to keep them submerged.

Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and cook just below simmering for 25-30 minutes, or until the pears are completely tender, but not mushy.  Cook the pears slowly, because the longer they cook the more they will absorb the ginger flavor.  When properly poached, they will have the translucent, milky look of canned pears.

If the pears are just tender, turn off heat and let them cool in the poaching liquid.  If they are a bit soft, drain immediately, spread them on a paper-lined baking sheet, and cool in the refrigerator.

Keep refrigerated three to five days, spread on a paper-lined baking sheet.  Do not stack.

The poaching liquid will keep indefinitely in the freezer and can be used again for cooking fruit; you will need to thin it out with water if it reduces during cooking and became too thick and sweet.

Dice the pears into small pieces and serve as a garnish to pear soup, or slice pears for a cheese board with toasted nuts or on homemade vanilla bean ice cream.