- 25g pine nuts
- 1 onion
- 600g parsnips
- 1 large potato
- A handful of thyme
- 1 pear
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 100g baby leaf spinach
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 ltr boiling water
- Medium pan with a lid
- Vegetable peeler
- 1.
Fill your kettle and boil it. Place a pan on the heat for 2 mins then tip in the pine nuts. Toast for 2-3 mins till lightly browned. Tip into a small bowl.
- 2.
Peel and finely chop the onion, parsnips and potato. Warm the pan you toasted the seeds in for 1 min over a low heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and the chopped veg. Add most of the thyme sprigs (keep a sprig back for garnishing). Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook gently for 10 mins to soften the veg. Stir every so often.
- 3.
Meanwhile, peel and quarter the pear. Slice out the core and dice it. Crumble the stock cube into a measuring jug. Add 1 ltr boiling water and stir to dissolve (or warm up 1 ltr homemade stock).
- 4.
Stir the pear into the veg. Pour in the hot stock. Cover and bring to the boil. Simmer for 8-10 mins till the veg are soft when pressed with a fork. Fish out the thyme sprigs.
- 5.
Add the baby leaf spinach to the pan. Simmer for 2 mins without the lid on the pan (this keeps the spinach green).
- 6.
Ladle the soup into a blender and blitz it till smooth, or use a hand-held blender in the pan. Taste and add more salt or pepper if it needs it. Ladle into warm bowls and garnish with fresh thyme leaves and toasted pine nuts to serve.
- Tip
Eat & keep
This soup will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months, minus its toppings. Simply cool the soup, divide into individual containers, seal and cool or freeze. Defrost overnight and reheat till piping hot.