Chilled Bosc Pear Soup with Oregon White Truffles and Soft Goat Cheese
Chilled Bosc Pear Soup with Oregon White Truffles and Soft Goat Cheese
by Chef Dustin Clark
Serves 4
For the soup, you will need:
8 very ripe Bosc or Anjou Pears, peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces
4 cups apple cider, with no added sugar
juice and zest of 2 oranges
juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
filtered water to thin soup, if needed
2 ounces soft goat cheese
fresh ripe Oregon white truffles, sliced thinly or sautéed chanterelle mushrooms
Place chopped pears into a food processor or blender with apple cider, orange juice and zest, lemon juice, two tablespoons olive oil and salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Blend until smooth, adding water if necessary to create a thick consistency. If the soup coats the back of a spoon, it is the desired consistency.
If a very smooth consistency is desired, strain the soup through a sieve and chill for 1-2 hours. Make this soup within 2 hours of serving it, as it will start to oxidize and darken within two hours because the pears are not cooked.
Serve in chilled bowls with goat cheese, fresh cracked pepper and a little olive oil drizzled over the top. The additional garnish of the Oregon white truffles or the chanterelles is also nice.
For the Sautéed Chanterelles with Shallots, Sage and Pears you will need:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound chanterelle mushrooms
1 teaspoon salt
2 shallots, minced
½ of ripe Bosc or Anjou Pear, peeled and diced into small cubes, about ¼ inch square
1 tablespoon minced sage leaves
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
In a 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and season with salt. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes.
Add the shallots, diced pear and sage. Cook for an additional minute. Season with black pepper. Let cool to room temperature to garnish the soup.
