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More Winter Soups
Roasted Parsnip Soup
A sweet and creamy parsnip soup, with roasted root vegetables and subtle rosemary flavours.
Ingredients
- 1kg parsnips, peeled and diced
- 150g echalion shallots, peeled
- 1 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 5 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup boiling water
- 150ml single cream
- Sprig of rosemary
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C
- Toss parsnips and shallots through garlic-infused olive oil, honey, salt and pepper.
- Spread vegetables evenly on a roasting dish, and roast for 60 minutes, or until browned and tender.
- Transfer cooked vegetables to a large pot. Cover with vegetable stock, and add rosemary and cayenne pepper.
- Pour boiling water into the roasting dish and use a wooden spoon or spatula to deglaze the dish. Transfer the liquids to the large pot with the vegetables and stock.
- Bring vegetables and stock to boil over high heat. Cover and reduce to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Using a stick blender, blitz soup until smooth. Add cream and season with salt and pepper, and blitz again until well combined, smooth and creamy.
- Serve hot.
What I Cook With
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 266Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 633mgCarbohydrates: 39gNet Carbohydrates: 0gFiber: 7gSugar: 15gSugar Alcohols: 0gProtein: 4g
Please note, this nutrition information is to be used as a guide only. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
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Roasted Honey and Parsnip Soup
When Parsnip Soup Becomes a Thing
A fair while ago during a family discussion, my husband asked if parsnip soup was a thing. And if it wasn’t already a thing (it is), then could I please make it a thing? And given the dreich weather we’d been having, soup was already front of mind. Cold, grey skies are practically a siren call for a hot bowl of something comforting. Now, I’d never made parsnip soup before, but I immediately took on the challenge and had a broad idea of what I would do. See, when you make a lot of soup, like I do, you stop following recipes. The basics become second nature, and it all starts with the same rhythm: roast, simmer, blitz, season.
So my starting point? My carrot and coriander soup. Not that I was planning to copy it verbatim, but I knew I’d use it as a loose guide. So, I began by roasting the parsnips – because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that roasting your veg first always makes for a tastier soup. But I didn’t stop there! I roasted them in garlic-infused olive oil alongside a few shallots. And then! I gave the whole lot a generous drizzle of honey. It might sound a bit much – parsnips are already sweet enough – but the magic of honey is that once it roasts, the sugars caramelise and the flavour deepens. You don’t get more sweetness, you get better sweetness.
I roasted the veg until they turned soft and golden. Then I deglazed the roasting tin to scrape up every bit of caramelised goodness. I refuse to leave that flavour behind. Those sticky bits stuck to the pan hold all the best flavour, and I made sure they went straight into the pot. I simmered the roasted veg with plenty of stock, a big old sprig of rosemary, and a decent pinch of cayenne pepper for a bit of heat. Once everything bubbled away and the flavours melded together? I blitzed it smooth and stirred through a splash of cream to finish. What I ended up with was a beautifully creamy and surprisingly elegant soup that now lives permanently in our winter rotation.
A Hint of Honey and a Whole Lot of Depth
Roasting vegetables before adding them to soup is one of those tricks you don’t unlearn once you start doing it, and with parsnips, it’s a must. They go soft and nutty in the oven, their earthy sweetness turning to something altogether richer. And when they’re roasted with garlic-infused olive oil and shallots, well, it turns the flavour up even further. But it was the honey that really made this special – not too much, just enough to coax out the best in the parsnips without making the whole thing taste like pudding. The edges caramelise, the interiors soften, and the whole tray smells like winter.
What makes this soup work so well, though, is the contrast. Because while you’ve got the sweetness from the honey and parsnips, you’ve also got rosemary and cayenne to balance it out. The rosemary brings a woodsy depth and the cayenne just enough heat to warm your throat without blowing your head off. This isn’t a bland, polite soup. It’s bold, comforting, and a little bit cheeky. And best of all, it still manages to feel wholesome and nourishing.
I also don’t skimp on finishing touches. The splash of single cream added at the end gives a lovely silkiness and ties all the flavours together. You could skip it, sure, but you’d miss out on that final touch of luxury. And if you’re making soup in the depths of winter, luxury is kind of the whole point. That, and having leftovers for lunch the next day – because this soup is even better reheated.
The Scottish Way With Soup
Scottish people do love a bit of sweetness. Not just in the tablet and shortbread kind of way, but in the little hint of comfort that sweetness can bring to otherwise dreary days. And when you live somewhere where the weather is consistently cold, wet, and grey, warming soups and stews become a way of life. We lean into the comfort food – the hearty, starchy, rib-sticking kind – but that doesn’t mean flavour gets left behind. And it definitely doesn’t mean chucking sugar into everything.
Scotland isn’t exactly known for its cuisine. And to be fair, we’ve got a bit of a reputation for deep frying everything in sight. But there’s so much more to explore here. So much history, so many regional ingredients, and so many little traditions that get passed down quietly. It’s from this kind of food culture – the kind built around weather and practicality – that soups like this parsnip one take root. We take what’s cheap and seasonal and make it sing. And yes, sometimes that means adding honey to already sweet vegetables, because it works.
This soup fits perfectly into that ethos – it’s warm and wholesome with enough depth and spice to make it interesting. It’s got the kind of richness that feels like a hug, without being heavy or overly indulgent. And it proves, at least to me, that Scottish comfort food doesn’t have to be bland or boring. It can be layered, flavourful, and even a little elegant – all while still being the kind of thing you want to eat wrapped in a blanket with the rain battering the windows.
Ingredients Breakdown
This recipe kicks off with parsnips. I peel and dice them, then roast until golden. They bring that earthy, natural sweetness to the soup, and roasting unlocks a rich depth that boiling just can’t offer. I toss them with echalion shallots, which mellow into soft, caramelised bites. Then, I coat the lot in garlic-infused olive oil and a drizzle of honey. This helps to get the edges nice and sticky.
To balance the sweetness, I stir in a good pinch of cayenne pepper for warmth and throw in a sprig of rosemary to bring an aromatic, woodsy edge. I simmer everything in vegetable stock, and make sure to scrape up all the good bits from the roasting tray so none of that flavour goes to waste.
Once blitzed to velvety smoothness, I stir through a splash of single cream to bring everything together. The cream adds that final touch of silkiness, and a little salt and pepper sharpens everything right up. No need for anything fussy here – just solid, flavour-packed ingredients doing exactly what they should.
Thank you for this recipe. ♥️
We’re soup people too ♥️
We’re parsnip people too and this soup is sooooo good ♥️
Loved roasting the parsnip etc ♥️
It’s a winner here in Australia ♥️
Thanks Marion! So glad you enjoyed it! xx
Made this over the weekend, and was suprised! Very tasty.