Ingredients:
- 5 medium-sized organic parsnips
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp rapeseed oil
- 2 black peppercorns, crushed
- 25 chestnuts
- 1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 small apple, peeled and finely diced
- 750ml chicken or vegetable stock
- 100ml whole milk
- 50ml pouring cream
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 220°C, Gas mark 7.
- Peel the parsnips.
- Cut into rounds – larger ones for the skinny end of the parsnip and thinner ones as you work your way to the top.
- Tumble them into a roasting dish and top with 1 tbsp rapeseed oil and the crushed peppercorns.
- Roast in the oven for 30 minutes until tender but not browned.
- Score the chestnuts with a little cross.
- Place in a baking dish and roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Shell the roasted chestnuts, cover with a cloth to keep them warm and moist, and set aside.
- Heat 1 tsp rapeseed oil in a pan then sauté the onion, garlic and apple until tender but not browned.
- Pour over the stock then add the parsnips and their juices, and the shelled chestnuts.
- Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Mix the milk and cream together.
- Take the pan off the heat and blend it with a hand blender, slowly adding in the milk/cream until the mixture is a pureé.
- For a really silky-smooth texture, pass the soup through a fine-mesh sieve.
