AIP gingered pear and butternut squash soup - blended, anti-inflammatory, gut-gentle

Some days chewing itself feels like one more task on a list that is already too long, and this soup solves for exactly that kind of tired, fragile day. Everything simmers soft, then gets blended smooth, so a tired digestive system has almost nothing left to do except receive it. On the days solid food feels like too much, a bowl like this is still real nourishment, just shaped to match what your body can use right now.

The fresh ginger warming the whole pot is studied for supporting digestion and calming inflammatory markers, a modest claim and an honest one. There is real carotene content in butternut squash, which the body turns toward vitamin A, one of the inputs a healthy gut mucosal barrier depends on. Pear is what keeps the bowl tasting like comfort instead of medicine, its natural sweetness and soft fiber doing quiet double duty.

Once it is blended, you have one uninterrupted bowl of soft orange, no bits to arrange, no garnish required. Let that simplicity be the point, and eat it slowly anyway, even on a night when nothing here needs a single bite of chewing.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 pears, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lbs), peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 tsp powdered ginger
• 2 to 3 cups chicken bone broth
• Sea salt, to taste

Method

Warm the coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring so it does not brown.

Add the pear and squash chunks and the powdered ginger. Stir to coat everything in the oil and let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes so the ginger blooms.

Pour in 2 cups of the bone broth, enough to nearly cover the squash. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat, cover, and cook until the squash is fork-tender all the way through, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Blend the soup smooth, either with an immersion blender right in the pot or in batches in a standing blender. Add more broth if you want it thinner. Season with salt to taste and serve warm.

Instant Pot variation

Use the Saute setting to soften the onion in the coconut oil, then add the pear, squash, and ginger and stir for a minute. Pour in 2 cups of broth, scraping the bottom so nothing sticks. Cancel Saute, seal the lid, and cook on high pressure for 8 to 10 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before opening (pressure time is a sensible estimate, flagged for kitchen testing). Blend smooth and season.

*Adapted from gutsybynature*