A parsnip soup so thick you could stand your spoon up in it, I’ve paired the seasonal root veg with earthy Parmesan cheese for a winter lunch that should thaw you right out. The vivid green pesto is simply a whole bag of watercress leaves blitzed up with extra virgin olive oil, crunchy walnuts, garlic and uplifting lemon zest in my blender.
You could swirl the pesto through the soup, but I opted to slather it all over some crusty bread fresh out of the oven. I was going to make little dainty crostini toasts, but I was too impatient and wanted to just get stuck in!
That’s the thing when you’re photographing your lunch. Sometimes you’re just too damned hungry to mess about for too long making it look all fancy-pants.
If you’re interested in getting a blender for Christmas, I’ve been sent the latest Optimum Froothie power blender to try out – the sleek and sexy Froothie Optimum G2.3. So far I’ve made soup, pesto, cheese sauce and pancake batter and it’s running like a dream. I’ll give it a full review in a separate blog post soon, but I have to say I’m LOVING it so far. It’s even quieter, has two separate jugs so you can make smaller quantities, plus it’s all digital so the dashboard is wipe-clean with no knobs to navigate.
It really made light work of the pesto, and gave the soup THE most velvety smooth texture.
A comforting bowl of soup that's big on flavour, and so thick you could stand your spoon up in it
- 500 g parsnips Peeled and chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 500 ml vegetable stock
- 60 g Parmesan chopped
- creme fraiche to serve
- walnuts to serve
-
Pre-heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Place the chopped and peeled parsnip into a roasting dish and toss with the olive oil, sage and a good pinch of sea salt. Roast for 30-40 mins until crisp and golden.
-
Make up the vegetable stock and pour into the jug of a blender along with the chopped parmesan cheese. Once the parsnip is cooked, add to the jug and blitz until smooth and creamy.
-
You can either cool and refrigerate to re-heat later, or serve immediately with a swirl of creme fraiche and some walnuts for a spot of crunch.
Vegetarian? Use a rennet-free hard cheese instead of Parmesan
A vibrant green pesto perfect for spreading onto crusty bread and serving with soup
- 50 g walnuts
- 50 g Parmesan chopped
- 100 ml olive oil extra virgin
- 1 garlic clove peeled and chopped
- 1 lemon zest only
- 120g bag watercress
-
Put all of the ingredients into the blender jug in the order they're listed and blitz on full speed. You may need to push the watercress down with a stamper.
-
Pour into a clean jam jar, seal with a lid and store in the fridge until needed. Ideal for spreading on crusty bread/toast, stirring through pasta, spooning onto fish or just as a dip.
Vegetarian? Use a hard cheese that doesn't contain rennet
Pin this recipe for later
Love Soup? Follow my Souper Ideas board on Pinterest for inspiration!
If you want to know interesting facts about parsnips, you’ll find it all in my latest blog post for the Froothie UK Blog, along with flavour pairings and more recipe ideas.
Disclosure: This blog post contains an affiliate link. I am an ambassador for Froothie Blenders, so earn a small amount of commission if you click on that link and buy a blender. Things like this help me to keep this blog afloat!
Oh man, there’s a whole load of comfort food going on there! Great job Katie 🙂
Janie x
Yup… it gets to this time of year and it’s back-to-back comfort food in my kitchen 🙂
Pesto and soup both sound delicious. I love the splash of green agains the bread and soup. You’ve made me feel really hungry. I’m still getting to grips with my G2.3
It takes a bit of getting used to after the very manual 9400… but I’m definitely getting there! Thanks for your lovely comments Choclette xxx
I love adding pesto or pistou to soup! It transforms it from the ordinary delicious to the sublime. Just like your soup. YUM
Thanks Lucy – it’s such a versatile thing isn’t it.
Oh lush – I’m pinning this for later. We’ve been looking for a soup recipe to try in our new blender x
Well there you are – perfect timing Sam!
Three lots of lush – the soup, the pesto and the lovely, sleek new blender! I’d be tucking in too.
All kinds of lushness Ren! Hehehehe xxx
Your soup sounds wonderful and I’m seriously wondering why I’ve never made pesto. I think because it wasn’t around when I learned to cook it has just stayed off my radar, must change this soon as your pesto looks so vibrant and delicious, better than what comes in a jar I’m sure:-) And Santa, if you’re reading this, please can I have a Froothie:-)
Hehehehe you totally need a Froothie in your life Camilla!
I’ve never seen such a smooth pesto!! It looks fabulous. Love the idea of serving it swirled through the soup to add a pop of colour (though it looks pretty amazing smeared on bread too!)
The blender really blitzed it up good Becca!
Absolutely gorgeous sounding soup and I think pesto lifts all soups onto another level of tastiness. Perfect comfort soup recipe!
I love parsnip soup. It’s the only way I do like parsnips!
Wow really Cathy? Not a fan of the roasted ones??
Hi Katie! I am allergic to Peanuts and Walnuts/Pecans. Is there a substitute for walnuts? Perhaps a combo of some other nut and/or seeds?
Also, I am about to move from an Optimum 9400 to a G2.3 myself! How do you find using the manual up/down controls compared to the dial? I love the 9400’s dial, I can turn anything into butter without the tamper by carefully moving up and down the lower speeds with the dial, but the sound reduction in the G2.3 is VERY tempting.
To be honest Jay you could put in any nut you fancy and are not allergic to! The G2.3 is a much sleeker machine, quieter, I love the smaller jug you get with it which is super handy, the lid is easier to get on and off. The biggest adjustment is the loss of the dial, but I find the pulse button really good. I’m still experimenting with all the settings!