Name: Parsnip and Potato Soup with Crisp Diced Bacon
Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients: 3 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs; 6 cups/1.4 L homemade chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth; 5 slices bacon, cut into ½-in/12-mm dice; Kosher or fine sea salt; 1 cup/240 ml. heavy whipping cream; 1½ lb/680 g parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-in/2.5-cm chunks; 1 large yellow onion, chopped; 3 fresh thyme sprigs; 1 lb/455 g russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-in/2.5-cm chunks; 4 tbsp/55 g unsalted butter; Freshly ground white pepper; 2 bay leaves; ¼ cup/60 ml. dry sherry (fino)

Preparation info

Serves
8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Roots

By Diane Morgan

Published 2012

About

I like to make this soup in the fall and early winter when parsnips are at their peak. They must remain in the ground until after the first frost, which converts their starches to sugar. In fact, parsnips were once (incorrectly) considered poisonous if they were pulled before the ground had frozen. Deeply flavored and aromatic, this soup is perfect cool-weather comfort food.