This farm to table pear and parsnip soup is Fall in a bowl! A restaurant quality soup and a wonderful way to enjoy parsnips (even if you think you don’t like parsnips).
This parsnip soup inspiration came from that old saying “If it grows together, it goes together”, so I combined some Fall fruit with my Fall root vegetables and was richly rewarded with a beautiful pot of soup.
Parsnips make a beautiful soup and combining them with pears makes for the most surprisingly delicious soup! I highly recommend it, even for people who think they don’t like parsnips. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Don’t skip the garnishes. The goat cheese crumbles and finely chopped walnuts take this delicious soup over the top.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
Parsnips – parsnips are available pretty much year round at most grocery stores. They tend to come in quite small bags, so you may need to pick up two bags to get the 1 lb. required for this recipe.
Pears – you can use any kind of pear, from Bartlett to Red or Bosc pears. Pears that are ripe but still firm work best, though even if they are a little soft, it won’t matter in the end, as the soup will be pureed.
Heavy Cream – heavy, 35% whipping cream will produce the nicest results in this soup. You can use a lighter cream, such as 18% or 10%, but the soup will be a bit thinner. For a non-dairy option, try non-dairy “cream” or coconut milk or cream.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
You can make this soup ahead and re-heat to serve. Store soup in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Creamy soups like this don’t freeze especially well. While the flavour will be preserved, the texture may change with the freeze/thaw process.
Get the Recipe: Roasted Parsnip and Pear Soup
Ingredients
Roasted Parsnips and Pears:
- 1 lb parsnips, peeled and chopped
- Olive oil
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 medium pears, peeled, cored and quartered
Soup:
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1 rib celery, diced
- 1/4 cup onion, diced
- 4 cups chicken broth, or vegetable broth
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
For garnish:
- Roasted parsnips
- Goat Cheese crumbles
- Chopped walnuts
- Sunflower or Pea sprouts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Peel the parsnips. Cut the parsnips in half across the middle, then cut thinner bottom piece in half lengthwise (unless really thin, in which case leave as is). Quarter the top part of the parsnips. Scatter onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Roast in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, peel, core and quarter the pears.
- Remove parsnips from oven and flip parsnips over. Add the quartered pears. Return the parsnips and pears to the oven and roast another 15-20 minutes, or until parsnips are tender. *Timing will vary depending on the size of the parsnips. Keep an eye on them while in the oven. You want the parsnips to get a bit golden, but definitely not scorch. You may want to remove some of the smaller/thinner pieces early if they are golden enough before the larger pieces are tender. Remove from oven and transfer parsnips and pears to a bowl. *Set aside/reserve a few pieces of parsnip to use for garnish later, if you like.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add chopped celery and onion and cook, stirring, about 3-4 minutes or until the onion is tender. Add the chicken broth, bay leaf, dried thyme and the roasted parsnips and pears. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer soap for 20-30 minutes to blend the flavours.
- Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Add the heavy cream and stir to combine. Taste the soup and then season well with salt and freshly ground pepper, as needed.
- Serve soup garnished with roasted parsnips, goat cheese crumbles, chopped walnuts and sprouts.
I really love the leaves some of the pears and parsnips out and roast them for a little longer in the oven so they’re golden brown chop them up small and then add them into the soup once you’ve pureed the rest of the soup or most of the rest of the soup. This just adds a decadent flavor here and there throughout the soup