Ingredients

• 1/2 pear in ginger syrup (from this recipe) or 1/2 fresh ripe pear
• 500 ml vegetable broth
• 250 g spinach
• 1 shallot
• 1/3 leek
• 1 yellow chili pepper
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 cm piece of ginger
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or other vegetable oil
• 400 ml coconut milk

Optional:

• 1 teaspoon grated lemongrass
• a few sprigs of cilantro

Preparation

1. Prepare pears in syrup or wash, peel and cut fresh pear. Prepare broth and bring to a boil. Wash spinach and remove tough stems.
2. Peel and chop the shallot. Wash the leek and cut into strips. Deseed and chop the chili pepper. Peel garlic and ginger and grate on a fine grater (discard ginger fibers).
3. Heat the oil in the pot, add the shallot, leek, chili, garlic, ginger and lemongrass if you have it. Fry, stirring, for about 5 minutes, adding a teaspoon of coconut milk at a time if ingredients stick to the bottom. Add the chopped pear and fry for another minute.
4. Pour in the entire coconut milk (2 tablespoons can be reserved for decoration) and bring to a boil, cook for 2 minutes. Add hot broth and after boiling season with freshly ground pepper and salt if needed. Cook for 3 minutes.
5. Then add spinach, reduce heat and cook over minimal heat for 2 minutes. Add cilantro if using (a few leaves can be reserved for decoration).
6. Pour the soup into an immersion blender container and blend until smooth (blend on the highest speed for about 1 minute). Pour back into the pot through a fine sieve, removing any unmixed bits. Heat before serving. Can be seasoned with salt, pepper and ginger syrup from the cooked pears or sugar. Decorate soup portions with coconut milk and sprinkle with cilantro.