Remember a few weeks ago when I told you about the mouse in our house? Well, he’s back – and this time he’s bought friends. The other night, I swear they were having a party under the house, while I lay in bed alone (B was off at a mate’s for the weekend), worried that perhaps in fact they were not just mice after all. And Maggie, who sleeps at the end of the bed to keep me company when B’s not around, continued to be the terrible ratter that she’s now renown for, and slept through the entire thing, except for two rather large sighs. Clearly not impressed that the mice were interrupting her sleep. I hear ya!
My reluctance to use rat poison has been waning at a rate that not-so-surprisingly correlates to the amount of partying the mice do. Suffice to say, after their all-nighter on Sunday night, things have been very quiet at our house ever since!
So – to today’s recipe! Can one ever have too many soup recipes in their repertoire? I would argue no.
Soup is one of those warming dishes that I immediately associate with cold temperatures and winter vegetables, even though many cultures enjoy soup year round (I have a recipe here for how to easily make soup for any season if you’re interested).
I’ve been wanting to try roasted chestnuts in a soup for a while now, and I definitely wasn’t disappointed with this effort. For a soup thats rather simplistic with only a few key ingredients, this dish has lovely depth of flavour and that great warming quality that just spells perfect winter soup!
- 3 large parsnips, peeled
- 2 pears, cored
- 400g chestnuts
- 3 Cups veg stock
- 1 tsp chopped thyme
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 to 2 cups water, extra
- 2 pears, diced, to serve
- Coconut (or dairy) cream, to serve
- Preheat oven to 190 C || 375 F
- Cut parsnips and pears into large pieces. Place on a lined baking tray or roasting pan, and bake for 45 mins or until golden brown, turning half way through.
- Roast the chestnuts and then peel.
- Add the peeled chestnuts and roasted parsnip and pear to a large pot with the thyme, stock and lemon juice and simmer 30 mins.
- Allow to cool slightly, and then puree the cooked soup in a blender until smooth (you may need to do this in batches). Add the extra water as needed (this will depend on how thick/thin you want the soup - omit if you want a really thick, hearty soup).
- To make the caramalised pear topping, heat a fry pan over medium to high heat and add a little oil or butter. Add the diced pear and cook until golden brown on all sides, around 5 minutes
Glad to hear you’ve gotten rid of the mice – sleepless nights are not fun.
And no! One can never have too much soup. This one looks amazing. I love how thick it is.
How strange just was thinking of this soup for the resturant on Friday with out the parsnips (but will try with and without to compare) I’ve made some rosemary and black pepper oil for on top so thought I’d do a google, just before this I saw a mouse run under my bath ahh hate the things!
Eek, mouses give me the creeps! I love the sound of your flavoured oil, such a great addition to swirl on top of any soup :)
What is the 1 to 2 cups water for? it doesn’t appear in the directions
Hi Sharon, the water is to thin the soup out if you like a thinner consistency. I’ve updated the recipe accordingly :)