My gosh am I feeling festive!
I know it’s only mid November but for some reason I am sooooo pumped for Christmas!! *flexed biceps emoji*
Maybe it’s the fact that it’s gotten much colder in London this past week… or the fact that I was walking under the Christmas lights of Oxford Street yesterday? All I know is suddenly I’m overwhelmed with the desire to go to Christmas Markets, wear my wooly hats/scarves, drink mulled wine, go ice skating, wrap presents, decorate a tree, and eat ALL THE PIGS IN BLANKETS!
Now, I’m not normally like this. I mean, I love the Christmas season, but being the little procrastinator that I am I usually don’t think about anything Christmassy until maybe the weekend before when I realise ‘oh damn I haven’t bought any presents yet!’ So, for me to be thinking about it already is definitely some sort of Christmas miracle!
I guess with this spontaneous burst of festivity, and with the evenings getting colder, I figured I’d make a winter warmer packed with festive flavours.
Apple, Parsnip & Chestnut Soup!
Oh hello.
To make the soup, I started by frying the onions, garlic, celery and herbs in a large saucepan until soft.
I then added the chopped apples, parsnips and chestnuts. I used tinned chestnuts (which were already cooked and peeled) to save me inevitably butchering them when peeling. You can absolutely roast and peel your own though!
Then I poured the vegetable stock into the pan, covered it and left it to simmer for 30 minutes until the apples and parsnips were tender.
Finally I blitzed the whole thing up in a blender until smooth. I added a touch of cream, and salt and pepper to taste.
Oh, and serve with crispy bacon and homemade sourdough/crusty bread.
- knob of butter
- 2 white onions, diced
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 celery sticks, diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 3 sprigs fresh sage, finely chopped (plus extra to serve)
- 3 large parsnips, peeled and diced (g)
- 2 apples, peeled and diced (g)
- 400g chestnuts, cooked, peeled, roughly chopped
- 1L vegetable stock
- splash of double cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- bacon, to serve
- crusty bread, to serve
- In a large saucepan, fry the diced onion, garlic, celery and herbs in the butter until softened.
- Add the chopped parsnips, apples and chestnuts to the pan.
- Pour in the vegetable stock, cover the pan and leave to simmer on a medium heat for 30 minutes until the apples and parsnips are tender.
- Blitz in a heatproof blender until smooth. Return to the pan and heat through once again.
- Pour in some cream to the desired thickness. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with crispy bacon and crusty bread.
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