Soup has always been a starter for me rather than a meal in itself.  Any suggestions in the past by Hubby to have soup and nothing but soup was met with my sulky face and a not very under my breath mutter of “It’s a waste of food inventory…”  And then he made me his so-delicious-its-almost-indecent butternut squash soup last year… After eating my own body weight in the stuff and finding myself feeling not at all cheated of a meal I didn’t really have any choice but to revise my opinion of soup, including the putting away of the sulky face (!)

So with the onset of Autumn I thought I’d try and expand my quite limited soup portfolio this year with a some new recipes.  This weekend was  the first quiet weekend we’d had in ages, perfect to get souping, starting with something distinctly seasonal.  It turned out rather well, if I may say so myself 🙂  And I’m sure the skies turning dark and the heavens opening just as we sat down to eat this with a few cheeky posh sausage rolls only added to the comfortingness of the soup.

The original recipe is by Flourishing Foodie as discovered and drooled over on Foodgawker, and I was as inspired by the photo composition as I was by the idea of a soup made out of roasted parsnips.  I love parsnips, and roasting them really heightens their sweetness and that nutty flavour they have.  And any worries I might have harboured about the combination of parsnips and apple being too sweet were sorted out by Flourishing Foodie’s quite inspired topping of a few shavings of parmesan, adding a lovely deep savoury note (umami for the win!).

I’ve frozen the leftovers in single portions for later, including the leftover half loaf of sourdough (croutoning up a whole loaf for just two of us seemed a little daft) so that I can make those delicious croutons again too.  And I’m thinking of adding a wee drizzle of garlic flavoured olive oil over the soup before decorating with the croutons and herbs next time.  I’ll let you know how that turns out 🙂 

And I’m never ever buying store bought croutons again, EVER!!

Roasted Parsnip & Apple Soup
Nutty parsnip and sweet apple is perfectly offset by lovely savoury parmesan shavings.
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Cook Time
1 hr 30 min
Cook Time
1 hr 30 min
Stuff you’ll need…
  1. 2 lbs parsnips, trimmed, peeled, and chopped
  2. 2 tbsp olive oil
  3. 60 grams salted butter
  4. 1 small onion, peeled and diced
  5. 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  6. 2 large apples, peeled and chopped
  7. 1 potato, peeled and chopped
  8. 2.5 pints chicken stock/broth
  9. 1/2 cup double cream
  10. salt and pepper to taste
  11. fresh loaf of bread, cut into 1 inch cubes (cannot recommend sourdough enough!)
  12. fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved
  13. herbs to garnish (parsley, basil, oregano or tarragon should all work)
Cook soup!
  1. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F. Toss the chopped parsnips in the olive oil until all the pieces are mostly coated, then lay them out on a baking tray in a single layer. Roast for 60 minutes, turning them every 20 minutes until they’re tender enough to pierce easily with a fork.
  2. Set the stewpot over a medium heat and add the butter. When it’s beginning to foam and has turned a light brown add the onions. When they’re lovely and translucent stir in the nutmeg.
  3. Next, add the apples, potato, and roasted parsnips to the pot and cook for 10 minutes. Give it a stir every now and then to stop it from sticking or burning.
  4. Then add the chicken stock and bring it to a boil before reducing the heat right down until the stock is simmering and leave it to bubble away gently for half an hour.
  5. After that, check the veg is ready – you want it soft enough again to pierce easily with a fork. If you’re using a traditional blender scoop the veg out, or sieve it over a large bowl to catch and keep the liquid bit of the soup , and blend until it’s a lovely smooth puree (you might need to do this in batches).
  6. Add the pureed veg back into stewpot with the liquid soup, add the double cream, stir well, and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Keep warm on a low-medium heat until you’re ready to serve. If the soup is a little too thick then add some milk or water to thin and recheck your seasoning.
Cook croutons!
  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Slice the bread in one inch cubes – if you want an extra crispy crunch leave the crusts on. Toss your bread cubes in a light drizzle of olive oil and salt and then lay them out on a baking tray in a single layer and bake for 10 minutes, or until they’re as brown (or not brown!) as you like them.
  2. Dish up your soup and drop in some of the fresh croutons (be generous!), shave some Parmesan cheese over the top, and garnish with a leaf or two of your herb of choice (or a light sprinkle of dried herbs).
Notes
  1. Makes about 3.5 pints of soup
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