Spiced Parsnip and Apple Soup
Parsnip and apple is one of those combinations that sounds slightly odd until you actually try it. The parsnips roast down sweet and nutty, the apple brings a bit of sharpness, and a spoonful of cumin and coriander stops the whole thing tipping over into pudding territory. It is a proper autumn soup.
Roasting the parsnips rather than boiling them is what makes this worth the extra twenty minutes. They caramelise at the edges and pick up a depth you simply do not get from a pan of stock. The apple goes in for the last ten minutes so that it softens without collapsing completely.
I batch cook this and freeze it in portions, which is a habit I have no intention of breaking. It freezes well for up to three months, and I leave the cream out until I am reheating it. A swirl stirred in at the last minute looks far better anyway.
This makes four decent bowls with bread, or six smaller ones as a starter. If you want it thinner, add a little more stock a splash at a time until it pours the way you like it. A few toasted seeds over the top give it some crunch.
Spiced Parsnip and Apple Soup
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
Serves: 4 people
Serving size: 577g
Calories per serving: 359
Fat per serving: 15.4g
Ingredients
- 700g parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 2 eating apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 100ml single cream
- 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted
- Salt and black pepper to season
Method
- Heat the oven to 200C. Toss the parsnip chunks with the olive oil and a good pinch of salt on a large baking tray, then roast for 25 minutes until the edges are golden.
- Add the chopped apple to the tray and give everything a shake. Return it to the oven for a further 10 minutes, until the parsnips are tender all the way through.
- Meanwhile, soften the onion in a large saucepan over a low heat for 8 minutes. Stir in the cumin and coriander and cook for another minute, until the kitchen smells of the spices.
- Tip the roasted parsnips and apple into the pan, pour over the vegetable stock and bring it up to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes so the flavours settle together.
- Blitz the soup until completely smooth with a stick blender, or in a jug blender in batches. Stir in most of the single cream and season carefully with salt and black pepper.
- Ladle into warm bowls, swirl over the last of the cream and scatter the toasted pumpkin seeds on top.
