Roast Parsnip Soup with Sage Brown Butter
Also called parsnip soup, roasted parsnip soup, White Dog Cafe parsnip soup
Butter-roasted parsnips simmered with softened onion and stock, blended silky with cream and finished with sage brown butter.
- Makes
- 4 to 6 servings
Inspired by the parsnip soup at White Dog Cafe, Philadelphia
Ingredients
Pan sizes, times and temperatures in the method are not scaled.
Soup
Sage brown butter
Method
Soup
Roast the parsnips. Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Peel the parsnips (900 g2 lb) and cut them into 1-inch (2.5 cm) chunks; on large ones, cut out the core if it's pale and woody, since it purées stringy. Melt 30 g of the butter (55 g4 tbsp) and toss the parsnips with it, the kosher salt (1 tsp) and some pepper. Spread in one layer and roast 35 to 45 minutes, turning once, until tender and well browned at the edges.
Soften the onion. In a large pot, cook the onion (1), and any of the optional vegetables, in the rest of the butter over medium heat until soft and sweet, 8 to 10 minutes, without letting it brown much.
Simmer. Add the chicken stock (1.2 l5 cups) and the roasted parsnips, scraping in any browned bits from the pan. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes.
Blend until completely smooth; a regular blender gives the silkiest result. Stir in the heavy cream (120 ml½ cup), thin with more stock if you like, and season with salt and pepper.
Sage brown butter
Melt the unsalted butter (55–85 g4–6 tbsp) in a small pan over medium heat, add the fresh sage leaves (10–12) and cook, swirling, until the leaves are crisp and the butter is golden brown and nutty, 3 to 4 minutes. Take it off the heat right away.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with the brown butter, crisp sage leaves and a pinch of flaky salt.
Notes
- Vegetarian. Use vegetable stock.
- Make ahead. The soup keeps 4 days in the fridge. To freeze, freeze it before the cream goes in and stir the cream in when reheating. Make the brown butter fresh.