A slightly sweet, slightly spicy, and delightful vegan parsnip soup.
A mug of soup with a slice of hot buttered toast is a joyously simple autumn lunch.
I really love pears, especially when they’re just at the point of ripeness – soft, fragrant and juicy. DH always claimed not to like pears, and I suspect this was largely because he insisted on eating them when they were unripe. Hard, crunchy and tasteless. No wonder he didn’t like them!
I have given him ripe pears since, and he has grudgingly admitted that they’re “OK”. It’s the best I can hope for, I suppose.
Sudden ripeness
I recently bought a bag of 6 rock-hard pears and put them in the fruitbowl. And waited. And waited some more… Then suddenly, I had 6 ripe pears! Six! There’s only so many you can eat at one sitting, and before you know it, they’re TOO ripe. What to do?!
Parsnip soup to the rescue
I’d eaten three of the pears, and was trying to think of a way to quickly see off the others, when I had the idea for this parsnip soup. I don’t usually make soup, but my parents were visiting and they are keen soup eaters. I think my Dad has soup twice daily. A good excuse to make soup.
Ingredients in parsnip soup with pears
The ingredients list for this parsnip soup is pleasingly short, and the soup was very easy to make. It is slightly sweet, slightly spicy, and delightfully autumnal. A mug of parsnip soup with a slice of hot buttered toast is a fabulous lunch.
To make it you will need:
- An onion – the basis of many good soups
- Parsnips – it wouldn’t be parsnip soup without!
- A couple of ripe pears
- A chunk of fresh root ginger for a warming spicy flavour
- Olive oil – for sautéing the vegetables
- Vegetable stock – from a cube/powder (or using homemade soup powder!) is absolutely fine
- Creamed coconut – note that this is NOT the same as coconut cream! It is a solid at room temperature and usually sold as a block, and not in a tin.
- Salt and pepper to taste
Last minute coconut
I threw in the creamed coconut at the last minute, basically because it seemed like a good idea at the time. It was. It adds just a hint of coconut flavour, and a lovely velvety texture. I used one of those 50g sachets
you can get in boxes of 4, which I always think are really handy. I usually have some in the pantry cupboard for just such eventualities as this.
All-in-all, a terrific way to use up ripe pears! This made enough for four generous portions of parsnip soup.
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📖 Recipe
Parsnip soup with pears, ginger and coconut
Ingredients
- 1 medium-large onion
- 800 g parsnips
- 2 medium pears
- 15 g fresh root ginger
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 400 ml vegetable stock (or use homemade soup powder)
- 50 g creamed coconut
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- 1 medium-large onion, 800 g (28 ⅕ oz) parsnips, 2 medium pears, 15 g (2 ⅐ tbsp) fresh root gingerPeel and dice the onion. Peel the parsnips and cut into chunky pieces. Peel & core the pears and cut into chunks. Peel the root ginger and chop coarsely.
- 3 tablespoon olive oilHeat the olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the chopped onion for 2-3 minutes. Add the parsnips and ginger and cook for a further 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just starting to colour.
- 400 ml (1 ⅔ cups) vegetable stockAdd the pears to the pan, together with the vegetable stock and 250ml boiling water. Stir well, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook on a low heat for around 30 minutes.
- 50 g (⅕ cups) creamed coconutRemove from the heat, add the creamed coconut and blend the soup to a smooth consistency. You may need to add a little more water if the soup is very thick.
- Salt and pepper to tasteSeason with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
More delicious soup recipes
If you loved this parsnip soup, and just want more delicious soup recipes, check out:
- comforting thick onion soup with barley and melty cheese
- delicious vegan parsnip and pea soup with fennel seeds
- wonderfully filling tomato soup with gnocchi and aubergine croutons
- amazingly creamy vegan courgette and potato soup
Parnsip, pear and coconut soup FAQs
This deliciously creamy parsnip soup with pears, coconut and ginger is an excellent choice as part of a balanced diet. It contains plenty of dietary fibre, as well as a reasonable amount of plant-based protein. This soup is also a good source of vitamin C and contains iron and calcium.
Soups can help to fill you up and when eaten with a meal can contribute to feelings of satiety and help to prevent overeating.
If you’re not eating this lovely parsnip soup straightaway, allow to cool and store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Ensure the soup is thoroughly reheated and piping hot throughout before serving. (If the soup smells odd, changes colour, or shows other signs of spoilage, it should be discarded.)
The soup can also be frozen in airtight containers for up to 6 weeks. It may separate on thawing, but should come back to its creamy consistency when reheated.
This delicious soup is completely vegan and is suitable for vegan and vegetarian diets. It is also gluten-free, although be careful to ensure that any readymade stock or stock cubes/powder do not have any gluten-containing ingredients.
I’m entering this into Simple and in Season, organised by Ren at renbehan.com
FFF
Thanks Jac – it was lovely. Great roundup! Lots of fab ideas 🙂
Jac -Tinned Tomatoes (@tinnedtoms)
Nice combination of flavours and it looks so creamy.