Parsnip & Apple Soup (Delicious)

The first of this week's new recipes - another one from the Around Britain Dairy Cookbook, a parsnip and apple soup. It's deliciously sweet and parsnippy, and very easy, of course. They say "it originates from East Anglia, where root crops thrive in the fertile soil."

The Recipe: Parsnip & Apple Soup
(Around Britain Dairy Cookbook)

• 1 oz. butter
• 1.5 lbs parsnips, peeled and sliced
• 1 cooking apple, cored, peeled and sliced
• 2.5 pints (US) vegetable stock
• 4 sage leaves (or half tsp dried sage)
• 2 cloves
• 5 fl. oz. pouring cream [I used half & half, but they also say it's optional if you want a lower fat soup]
• 1 dessert apple, cored, peeled and sliced, and fried in 1 oz. butter till browned, for garnish

Serves 4-6; suitable for freezing

1) Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the parsnips and apple. Cover and cook gently for 10 mins, stirring occasionally.

2) Pour the stock into the saucepan and add the sage and cloves. Bring to the boil, cover and then simmer for 30 mins, until parsnip is softened.

3) Remove the sage leaves and cloves, then puree the parsnips in a blender or food processor.

4) Return to the saucepan and reheat gently, with the cream. Season to taste. Serve hot, with crusty bread, and garnished with the fried apple slices.

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

My only concern was finding the cloves in all that parsnip, but it was actually easy.

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