As promised, here is another wonderful soup recipe from one of the Hudson Valley’s most esteemed restaurants. This Parsnip and Apple Soup is courtesy of Agnes Devereux, owner of The Village Tea Room in New Paltz, NY.
Parsnips are a root vegetable with a high mineral content (lots of calcium, iron and potassium in particular); they also contain some beta-carotene and vitamin C (parsnip nutrition info courtesy of Living Cuisine by Renee Loux Underkoffler).
I like parsnips both raw and cooked; I sometimes shave them into salads like this, and they are wonderful when roasted, alone or with other vegetables.
As far as growing them is concerned, parsnips are particularly delicious when their natural sweetness is allowed to develop by leaving them in the ground until well after the first frost, so the starches can convert to sugars.
This simple recipe perfect for the fall/winter pairs parsnips with potatoes. The sweetness of the parsnips is enhanced by the apple cider and it has a luscious velvet-y consistency when puréed with a little cream. To make it vegetarian, substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.
This parsnip soup recipe is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging this week.
Weekend Herb Blogging is an event managed by Haalo, and I am this week’s host!
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Recipe for Parsnip and Apple Soup
Ingredients
- *2 large potatoes peeled and chopped
- *4 parsnips peeled and chopped
- *2 small onions chopped
- *1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
- *4 oz. unsalted butter preferably organic
- *1 qt. homemade or store-bought chicken stock
- *1 1/2 cups apple cider
- *1/3 cup heavy cream preferably organic and not ultra-pasteurized (I use raw cream)
Instructions
- 1. In a large stainless steel pot, cook potato, parsnips, onions and parsley in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened; this will take about 20 minutes. Add stock and simmer until vegetables are very soft, about 30 minutes.
- 2. With immersion blender, purée mixture until silky smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, allow soup to cool sufficiently so that you can purée it in a traditional blender or a food processor. Do this in batches, if necessary.
- 3. Stir in cider, cream, and salt and pepper to taste and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Keep soup warm until ready to serve; garnish with chopped chives, if desired.
