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The temperature is below zero here and snow is falling outside my window as I type this post. After a short but quite exciting ride around the forest this morning – nothing like freezing cold weather for getting horses to behave badly! – I returned them to their field with a double ration of hay and hurried back down to the house muttering “soup, soup, soup”.
There are indeed days when only soup will hit the spot, and today I longed for parsnip soup.
The French don’t really get parsnips, and when we first came to Normandy, they only way I could eat them, would be if I grew them myself. Today, their qualities remain fairly confidential but at least they are to be found in small quantities in our local supermarket.
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When I buy parsnips in the store, I am quite often asked by other shoppers what they are, and how to cook them! I answer that they are wonderful creamed, fantastic roasted and divine in a soup! Many French remain unconvinced, but I don’t mind, that just leaves more for me!
To make my favourite soup I use:
1 large leek/onion
4 garlic cloves
100g butter
1 large potato
8 parsnips
chicken stock
seasoning [blank]
Making soup is so easy, there’s really no excuse for buying ready made. Most vegetables can be made into delicious soup using this same recipe.
Finely cut the leek/onion and garlic and pop them into a saucepan with a cube of butter. Let them cook slowly for about 5 minutes, making sure they don’t brown. In the meantime peel and cut up the potato and the parsnips. If the parsnips seem to have a tough core then cut that out too. Add this to the pan and cook slowly for another five minutes.
When the vegetables are beginning to smell good then cover them with light chicken or vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and leave to simmer gently for about half an hour. I leave the lid on while they are simmering.
Test the parsnips with a knife, they should be soft, but not falling apart. Add seasoning, salt and freshly ground pepper definitely, and if you wish a small teaspoon of curry powder.
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I either blend in the blender, or sometimes for smaller quantities with a hand held blender that stands up in the pan. The result should be thick and creamy, but if it looks too thick then a little extra stock can be added.
To serve the soup, it is nice to have a contrasting colour sprinkled over the top, I like little pieces of crispy chorizo, but it’s also very good with parsnip slices or more simply with some chopped chives.
So tell me, what is your favourite soup to warm you if you’re in the winter like me, or for those of you in the southern hemisphere what are you making to cool you down?
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49 comments
I've never known what to do with parsnips. I will try this. It's below freezing in North Texas now and a good time for soup here. The parsnips are in abundance in my grocery store. xo Jenny
I have very bad arthritis and cannot peel or chop veg. I use the same recipe with frozen veg, sliced carrots and cubed butternut squash is our favourite with turmeric and paprika and fresh coriander for spices! Also buying frozen I can take out just enough for a big saucepan and keep the rest in the freezer for another batch the next week! Going to try your parsnip soup as I have some that need using. Hubby doesn’t cook, but he’ll have to help by peeling them!!!
I sometimes add a couple of pears to the parsnip soup.
Most locals here think that parsnips are for the animals to eat but change their minds when they've had them roasted or as soup.
Its raining here in Brittany no doubt it is with you too in Normandy.
Diane.
Your soup looks delicious… and you are right, no need to buy ready made… good ingredients , good soup. Have a lovely day… Mary
Parsnips are essential part of vegetable mix used for seasoning the stock (let it be chicken or beef )we use the leaves of it too.I love parsnips as side dish for the meat cooked in the soup.
We have havy snowig here since two days, traffic in the cities stands still it is marvelous in the country seeing the untouched fields under the snow in the back of the cottage.Love from the Great Plain in Hungary Dorka http://www.dorottyaudvar.co.hu
I love a nice leek and potato soup with a bit of bacon. Made with homemade chicken soup it's extraordinarily good. Can be thinned with a bit of milk or cream to add an extra layer of creamy goodness.
Never used parsnips. They do sell them in our local grocery and have been told they are also lovely roasted. You have convinced me to give them a try.
~ ~Ahrisha~ ~
I do LOVE parsnips, they are very popular in the States. You soup looks gorgeous with a deep rich color.
Mary x
I love a creamy mushroom soup. It is wonderfully comforting on a beautiful snowy night.
Well, parsnips are questioned here in So. Cal, and Hubby would rather not….so I sneak them in here and there. I love them! Your soup sounds wonderful. I must try it.
I thought we were cold….stay warm and cozy.
Nancy
https://wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com
My love of Parsnips is roasted along side potatoes, with roast pork.
My favorite winter warmer soup, is carrot flavored with curry spice & coconut milk. warming & spicy.
Parsnips are one of my favourite winter vegetables, love them roasted with maple syrup – yummy! Will definitely be making this soup tomorrow, perfect for the cold snowy weather forecast in the UK!
Lovely.And, perfect for today as we're visiting in Colorado.
I love creamy chicken pasta soup. You can find it on the epicurious.com website: Bon Appétit magazine,November 1999. The addition of lemon juice puts this one over the top for us.
Almost any kind of soup is delicious to me. Lately I've been favouring roasted butternut squash soup with ginger. So warming on these cold days. Parsnips are lovely roasted or in soups.
I love just about any kind of soup. I've never eaten parsnips but had a friend who loved them. I don't know if I would like them but the way you are using them for soup sounds very delicious. My favorite soup in the winter time is Italian soup made with Italian sausage, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, onion, garbanzo beans and beef broth. It warms you right up!
We're having a cold snap – unusual for Southern California near the beach. Today I'm trying beef stew and buttermilk biscuits for the first time ever. Bought everything yesterday, have the recipes from Cooks Illustrated, and looking forward to a yummy dinner.
And Sharon, thank you so very, very much for your blog. I found you last month when I was laid up after knee surgery. It's clear your blog is a labor of love, but also that it is A LOT of labor. Thank you so very much for this much cherished gift.
Beetroot (made quite same way, cooks bit longer thou) with grilled chevre on top. Sometimes I use the leftover with pasta or risotto. Botha are also excellent served with goat cheese.
Certainly will try your receipe, do not not use parsnips almost at all!
The sun is out and the palm trees are swaying in sunny South Florida!! It's always time for a glass of Sweet Tea!
I love parsnips any way they come, mashed, roasted or in this lovely soup. Parsnips seem to be quite expensive down here, don't know why. Maybe I should grow my own.
LOVE parsnips! Will definitely try your soup. Homemade soup is indeed easy and delicious. I have created several recipes, right now my favorite is roasted butternut squash with onions, chicken stock and half and half. I adore your blog. Here in the states blogs are saturated with ads and far too much visual stimulation. I keep my blog very simple and was thrilled to find that yours is clean and simple as well. I spend a lot of time reading your old posts as I am a new reader. They transport me to a place that I can only hope to one day visit. Fingers crossed you keep your cottage open until I can get to Normandy (10 years?)
Oh, yummy! I love parsnips!And I have never even eaten parsnip soup!!! I will now. YOur images are beautiful!
Last week, I made seared and braised chicken in chicken broth, leeks, parsnips and fresh sage. Absolutely divine.
Hello Sharon
I love this recipe, thank you. Like you, I make lots of different soups. It is difficult to eat the canned variety now.
Have a wonderful week
Helen xx
I'm a little further south, so even in the years when our fingers aren't at their greenest, we can manage a bountiful crop of tomatos – hell, they even self-seed all over the potager! Husband roasts the bi-daily (is that a word? probably not, sorry!) – every couple of days' harvest with garlic and shallots in olive oil, which are then blitzed through the mouli.
Then it goes in the freezer.
For a mid-winter soup that tastes of sunshine, we de-frost and add water or tomato juice (de Marmande, for pref.)to dilute; same for summer with ice-cubes, adding herbs, drizzle of crême fraîche …..as you like!
Apologies for adding such a simple and obvious favourite; you have probably all already perfected 🙂
Curry Egg Plant Soup….made in the same way you make your Parsnip soup! It's extra cold here in Southern California so I've been so excited to make a homemade soup every other day! We love soup! I'm not sure how I found your blog but I'm so happy I did!
Thank you
Tee
I love butternut squash soup with a little chipotle in adobo sauce with a dollop of yogurt. The heat of the chili with the sweet of the squash with the sharpness of the yogurt hits all the taste buds. However, this week Sally Cameron at A Communal Table dot com assures me vegetable stock can be made in 7 minutes using a pressure cooker, so I feel obligated to give her stock and your soup a try. I love stocking my freezer with soup in serving size for two; that way I can always pull out and make a tartine and my guest think I am a wizard cook.
I am enjoying your posts. Oh, and I wish I had the energy that horses seem to get when cold weather is involved.
Oops! Sally is at A Food Centric Life for the veg stock. But the other site is also delicious. My two faves for food.
I love to make pumpkin soup, pies and dips in winter. I love to bake during the colder weather. Good way to warm up the house. Right now in Australia we are having a hotter than I can ever remember having summer, so watermellon from a local farm and mangoes from our tree are keeping me sane. I've made icy cold fruit smoothies, creamy milkshakes and salads with these delicious and refreshing fruits. Tonight I'm going to attempt to make sticky rice with mango.
This looks so delish – something I am definitely going to try! We love parsnips here so that is definitely on the menu on a cold day.
Stay warm,
Jen
x
Your parsnip soup sounds great! Drooling, but it's too hot right now. Will make it in the autumn when weather is cooler. Also enjoy parsnips in my home cooked minestrone (might not be traditional Italian – but they taste good) and baked parsnips of course with roasts.
In the heat I've been making big quantities of greek salad using the produce from my veggie garden, wonderful crunchy sweet cucumbers, tomatoes etc and with lovely fresh oregano and Greek goats' cheese fetta. Also gazpacho is great in this weather, using similar vegetables. Best wishes, Pamela
I love parsnip. It is also delicious as chips. Cut in small slices with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
My favourite soup is pumkin with chesnuts in winter.
This is so delicious and healthy. I love your recipe, thank you!
Down here in Queensland, Australia I make pea and cucumber gazpacho during the summer months… it's been particularly humid and warm of late, so perfect when it's too hot to cook.
x
Cold beet root gazpacho is very refreshing in very hot NSW Australia right now. Topped with a dob of sour cream and some snipped chives makes a lovely lunch or entree dish.
Love tomato basil soup here in Dallas,
Your parsnip soup looks really tasty, I must try it. I usually make a vegetable soup, adding pearl barley, red lentils and masses of spicy green lentils. Instead of putting it in the blender I use the potato masher, so that it stays chunky, then serve with a crusty roll. As you say, some days only soup will hit the spot! It's also fascinating to hear the soup recipes from your readers who live in warmer climates.
Thanks for the receipe….I will try it! Here in the south it's cool and raining. Those are the days I love homemade potato soup with a sprinkling of cheese and bacon. Nothing like it, so simple, but so delish! Yours sounds like it woul be the perfect simple, delish dish also. What is the conversion on butter…about 5 tbls? Thanks for sharing Sharon!
I've never had a parsnip and now you are inspiring me to shop for some. A soup as this would be perfect today since Arizona is suffering from historical record freezing temperatures that have lasted far too long. I moved away from the cold to experience the warmth! Thank you for the recipe, a must try Sharon.
Love parsnips and chorizo or cheese or bacon bits would all be delish … Thanks for giving me the ideas! Ciao z
What a beautiful recipe! I'm very sick with the flu that's running rampant in Minnesota, so I'm having to comfort myself with soup out of a can. Terrible, isn't it?
Hottest summer we've had in years here in Christchurch. The thought of hot soup is miles away but the tomatoes are falling off the vines so chilled gazpacho is a winner. Have had to freeze many batches as the house is finally coming down after September 2011. The lean, the mould, the underfloor smells, leaking pipes will finally be over!! YEAH!! Cant wait to see my house rebuilt – using some ideas from you my dear so keep the photos coming! By the way we love parsnip here but it needs the frost to bring out the flavour don't you think? Haven't tried soup but will be trying it in the rental this winter.
Made the soup – DELICIOUS! Thanks for the recipe!
Lovely! Just made the soup tonight, where we have been having below freezing temps for the last couple of weeks. I love soup; mushroom, squash, parsnip, etc. but always home-made. Nothing beats a bowl of home-made soup; those cans should be forgotten entirely! With a crisp green salad and a crusty roll, it is pure heaven. Thanks for this.
Made a wonderful "light" loaded baked potato soup tonite–a snowy evening in North Carolina when the dh was off to weekly tennis. Twas the Cooking Light recipie to which I added a bit of grated cheddar in the actual soup, rather than just on top. It was fabu!
Your soup is lovely even in the warmth of SW Florida. I did not have parsnips in the house so I used carrots instead, along with some sweet red, yellow and orange mini peppers. I added the curry and, after I pureed the soup, I added a bit of heavy cream. I am eating it now and I am very happy. Thanks.
Best…Victoria
sounds good—but I have a real time trying to find parsnips that are fresh down here in South Carolina! Some of my stores don't carry them at all and the few that do often have old ancient ones!
I have been saving this recipe for a month now and just made it. It is comforting on a cold damp day! I don't have any chirozo on hand this time but I will be sure to plan ahead better next time. Thank you for your inspiration.
I love a nice leek and potato soup with a bit of bacon. Made with homemade chicken soup it's extraordinarily good. Can be thinned with a bit of milk or cream to add an extra layer of creamy goodness.
I have just made a leek pear and blue vein soup .it was absolutely wonderful . I added leek celery onion and pear simmered until soft .added 3 cups of chicken stock simmered for another 3 minutes added tablespoon of seeded mustard as well as100gms of cream blue cheese melt and then blend DIVINE