Another Vege-Fruit Soup Combo!

There's something to be said about vegetable fruit combos. Since the carrot orange ginger soup, I have been on the look out for more combos for soup. According to the internet, pear enhances the flavor of zucchini; mango does the same for cauliflower; and banana for avocado. I am not sure how the other two combo will turn out but zucchini + pear makes one awesome soup! Who knew? The internet sometimes gets (untested) stuff right!

Oh yeah! It's a nice grilled cheese you are spotting in the background. Aged white cheddar between 2 slices of my favorite bread. It's my favorite thing to complete a soup meal.

Pear Zucchini Soup
Makes 2 generous servings or 4 appetizer-sized servings.
2 tablespoons butter
1 leek
3-4 zucchinis (about 600-700g)
2 pears, ripen (I prefer Bartlett pears)
600 mL chicken stock, more if necessary
Few sprigs of thyme

1. Slice the leek (use only the white part). Put a large saucepan over medium high heat with the butter in it. Add in the sliced leek. Stir occasionally until the leek turns translucent. You want to sweat, not brown it.
2. While the leek sweats in the pan, slice the zucchini and dice the pear (cut around the core). Add the zucchini and pear to the leak. Put in a few sprigs of thyme.
3. Add in the broth, it should not cover the content. Too much broth will result in a very watery soup and remember the zucchinis and pears have a high water content. It's better to use less now and correct for consistency later.
4. Bring the broth to a boil. Turn the heat down to low. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the zucchini and pears are soft.  Turn the heat off and let cool for a bit (10-20 minutes). You do not want to puree boiling hot liquid in a blender. It will explode.
5. Puree everything in a blender. Do it in about 3 batches. If it is still pretty hot, fill the blender to half full at most, leaving some room for the hot air to expend. 
6. Put all the puree soup back in the saucepan and reheat for serving. If you have reached the consistency you like, your soup is ready! If it's too watery, boil it down. If it's too thick, add in more broth and bring to a boil before serving.