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Thursday, November 14, 2013

Roasted Parsnip and Pear Soup

Roasted Parsnip and Pear Soup!

It's been months since I've posted a recipe, and I know a lot of you have been on my case about it!  A large part of this is because of all the traveling I've been doing for work.  Now that things have calmed down a bit and Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I decided it was time to post a Paleo/Primal/clean/gluten-free recipe for a possible Thanksgiving dish.

I could make a post on how to make Green Beans with Thyme, but you know me.  I wanted to create something different from the normal Thanksgiving dishes served at everyone's table while keeping it clean.  We all know rooted veggies are in season, but did you guys know that so are pears?  It totally slipped my mind!

Tools:

Ingredients:  For 8 cups of soup: 
  • 14oz Parsnip, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
  • 10oz Bartlett Pears, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
  • 2 cloves of Garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 large Shallot, chopped
  • 3 Tbsp unsalted Butter (I like the Kerrygold brand)
  • 1/2 cup of dry White Wine
  • 4 cups of Chicken Stock, more if soup is too thick
  • 1/4 - 1/2 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream (optional)
  • up to 1/4 Lemon, freshly squeezed (though you may only need a splash; this is to taste)
  • 6-8 slices of Bacon
  • 4 Tbsp Chives, finely chopped
  • High Quality Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper
2. Ingredients

Instructions:
  1. Gather ingredients.  Preheat the oven to 400F.  Peel the parsnips and pears and cut them into 1" cubes.  Toss the cubed parsnips and pears with olive oil and transfer them to a baking pan.  Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the pears and parsnips are soft and golden.
    3. Chopped parsnip and pear.
    4. Roasted!
  2. In a hot soup pot, melt the 3 Tbsp of Butter.  When the butter is hot, add the chopped 1/2 shallot and 2 cloves of garlic.  Cook until translucent and tender, approximately 5 minutes.
  3. Add the 1/2 cup of white wine and reduce.
  4. Add the roasted parsnips, pears, 4 cups of chicken stock, and salt and pepper.  Bring to a simmer and cook on medium low for 45-60 minutes.  The liquid should not boil rapidly.
    6. Add the roasted parsnips and pear.
  5. Turn off the heat and let it cool a little bit before blending.  The pears and parsnips should be VERY soft at this point.  Puree the mix using a stick blender.
    7. Cooked down, before blending.
    8. Blenderized!
  6. Return the soup to a soup pot and keep it warm on low heat.  If the soup is too thick, stir in more chicken stock or water (I didn't have to).  Swirl in the 1/4 cup of whipping cream (truly optional, if you want the soup a little creamy) and up to 1/4 of freshly squeezed lemon juice (to offset the sweetness of the pear) to taste.  I used just a splash of lemon juice.
    7.
  7. Cook the bacon covered until crisp and then crumble.  Finely chop the chives.
    8. My current favorite bacon, from "Full of Life" Farm (LOL).  Seriously, it just melts in your mouth.  You can get it at the Mountain View Farmer's market.
  8. For each cup of soup, sprinkle some crumbled bacon and finely chopped chives.  This is not just garnish so don't ignore them.  They are use to balance the flavors from the pears and parsnips.  Serve and enjoy!
    10. Showtime!  Woohoo for Asian soup bowls!
I served this to a few friends who came over for dinner last week to test it out.  It was a hit!  If you want something other than the typical butternut squash or pumpkin soup, try it out!  It's super easy to make and Paleo.  If you want to take it up a notch, serve it with some seared scallops.  You won't be disappointed!

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