Parsnip is a wonderful, sweet winter vegetable and married with the nuttiness of the walnuts, the freshness of the peas and the acidity of the lemon as in this soup makes a great dish!
Ingredients
- 450g parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced
- 50g walnuts
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and extra to drizzle
- 1 Ltr chicken stock
- 100g frozen peas
- ½ lemon, zest
- A pinch of nutmeg
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 0 C.
Put the walnuts on a baking sheet and roast for a few minutes, until they start releasing their aromas, approx. 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Bring a sauteing pan to a medium heat and add the oil. Sweat the shallot until translucent and add the parsnip. Stir for a couple of minutes and add 700ml of the stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cook until the parsnip is soft. 10 minutes before the end of cooking time, add the walnuts into the soup. When the parsnip is cooked, transfer to a blender and blitz to a very smooth soup. It may need a little thinning with a some stock or water. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To make the pea and lemon drizzle, bring a small saucepan with the remaining stock to the boil. Add the peas and cook for a couple of minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and using a stick blender blitz to a very smooth runny puree of drizzling consistency. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve the soup with the pea and lemon drizzle, some extra virgin olive oil, the lemon zest and a dusting of nutmeg.