Roasted Parsnip Soup with Crispy Fried Shallots

Roasting parsnips brings out their earthy sweet flavor in this winter soup. Not only is this Roasted Parsnip Soup with Crispy Fried Shallots easy to make, it’s easy on the budget too.

We finally got our snow day in the PNW and man, does that make me hungry! It’s hard work playing in the snow all day. This creamy Roasted Parsnip Soup is loaded in Vitamin C and super filling. Top it with crispy fried shallots or your favorite toppings like bacon or chives.

Ingredients

• Parsnips – The root vegetable that looks like an oversized carrot, only cream in color and slightly sweet in taste.
• Onion – My northwest preference is Walla Walla Sweet onion.
• Celery – Organic is my choice for celery, adds a fresh flavor.
• Rainbow Carrots – Typically found in the organic section of produce. You could use regular carrots, but organic has so much more flavor.
• Garlic – This is a simple soup, so we’re packing a lot of garlic in for flavor. Look for garlic that is hard when you press on it.
• Chicken Broth – Homemade is best, but I like Better than Bouillon if in a pinch. It has a great natural flavor to it.
• Thyme – Use fresh, just slide your fingers along the stem to remove the leaves. Discard the woody stem.
• Heavy Cream – Also known as whipping cream, adds a nice rich texture to this soup.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place parsnips and onion on sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and roast in oven for 30 – 45 minutes or until parsnips are fork tender.
3. Sauté celery, carrots and garlic in butter until tender.
4. Add roasted parsnips and onion to the pot with sautéed vegetables.
5. Cover with chicken broth and add thyme leaves.
6. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Use immersion blender to puree soup.
8. Add cream and simmer for another 10 minutes.
9. Top with crispy fried shallot, bacon and chives.

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Roasted Parsnip Soup with Crispy Fried Shallots

Roasting parsnips brings out their earthy sweet flavor in this winter soup. Not only is this soup easy to make, it's easy on the budget too.

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine Soups, Stews, Chowders

Keyword parsnip, root vegetables, vegetarian soup, winter soup

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
• 5 large parsnips, peeled and rough chopped
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cup celery, sliced
• 1 bunch rainbow carrots, sliced
• 2 tbsp garlic, minced
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Place parsnips and onion on sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil.  Place in oven and roast for about 45 minutes or until golden in parts and able to pierce with a fork.
• In a soup pot over medium high heat, saute celery, carrots and garlic in butter until softened, abut 5 minutes.  
• Add roasted parsnips and onion to soup pot, cover with chicken broth and add thyme sprigs.
• Simmer for 30 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Using an immersion blender (pour into regular blender and pulse if not using immersion) blend until fairly smooth.  Add cream and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
• Top with crispy fried shallots or chives, bacon, etc. 

Crispy Fried Shallots

• Thinly slice 3-4 large shallots.  Place in a bowl and cover with buttermilk. Let soak for 30 minutes. (No buttermilk? It’s o.k. just mix 1 cup milk with 1 tbsp. white vinegar)

  Remove shallots from buttermilk and toss in 1 cup flour. Pan fry in vegetable oil over high heat until golden brown. 

  Remove and drain.