This Pear, Parsnip & Ginger Soup recipe delivers a creamy blend of seasonal flavors that can be served hot or chilled.
I make this Pear, Parsnip & Ginger Soup for our everyday meals, but also serve it with afternoon tea and brunch and on our holiday tables. It never fails to impress; our guests always love it.
Selecting the Ingredients
Pears
Fresh pears are among my favorite fruits, and they are properly showcased in this Pear, Parsnip & Ginger Soup. You can use any pear variety you fancy and the soup will be delicious as long as the fruit is ripe. The soup in the photo for this recipe this was made with Bartlett pears.
Sometimes I make this soup with Asian pears (Nashi). The texture of the soup is slightly different because Asian Pears are a harder, grainier fruit, but the flavor is equally outstanding.
Parsnips
Parsnips are a cream-colored root vegetable in the same family as carrots. With their earthy, sweet and slightly nutty flavor they are a stellar addition to any recipe. Parsnips are a cool-weather vegetable; here in zone 7b the seeds are sown in the spring, and then the roots are harvested in the fall after a frost or two sweetens them. For gardeners interested in growing parsnips, I recommend an heirloom variety called Half-long Guernsey.
In stores parsnips are sold both loose and bagged. Look for parsnips that are firm – not flexible – without mushy or black spots. Size varies between different cultivars, but for the most part, smaller parsnips and more desirable as the larger ones tend to be fibrous or woody. Parsnip skin is edible and I frequently leave it on, but sometimes the skin is tough and/or slightly bitter, so for this soup I do peel them. It’s your call!
Ginger
Fresh ginger root gives every dish it’s added to a spicy, warming finish. Grocery stores and farmers’ markets frequently stock pieces of the root at minimal cost. Be sure the piece you select is firm and without visible dried up spots or mold. Instead of using a peeler, use the edge of a spoon to remove the skin – it’s surprisingly easy. A one-inch cube of fresh ginger equals approximately 1 tablespoon minced. Store fresh, unpeeled ginger in an airtight containers in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer.
Vidalia Onions
Vidalia onions only come from Georgia in the USA where their superb sweetness comes from being grown in low-sulfur soil. It is, in fact, Georgia’s state vegetable and there are celebrations and festivals in its honor. And rightly so! Vidalia onions are a sweet, mild onion that tastes great raw or cooked. Vidalias are my favorite onion to cook with, and as a bonus, slicing them rarely makes me cry.
When selecting onions they should be firm and NOT fragrant. If you can smell the onion in the store it means it is past its prime. The onion should not be sprouting or have any soft spots.
Vegetable Stock
Vegetable stock is an easy-to-make kitchen essential that serves as the base for soups, stews and more. It contains a variety of vegetables including (but not limited to) carrots, onions and celery (and I love it with fennel bulb), and herbs including bay leaves, thyme and rosemary. Click this link for my Vegetable Stock Recipe.
Heavy Cream (or not!)
This recipe’s ingredient list includes 1 cup of heavy cream. If you prefer, you could use half-and-half or regular milk. To make this recipe non-dairy, replace the cream with the plant-based milk of your choice. If you don’t want to use ANY kind of milk, dairy OR non-dairy, simply add an extra cup of vegetable stock so your soup won’t be too thick
Garnish
The Pear, Parsnip & Ginger Soup in the recipe photo is garnished with sage leaves and ground cherries from my garden arranged atop almond slivers. I garnish it differently almost every time depending on what I have in the garden and pantry, and also what mood I’m in. Sometimes I use fried sage leaves with brown butter over thinly sliced pears. Peanuts are a good choice, pomegranate seeds are nice… Crushed graham crackers on swirl of cream… Have fun with it!
Variations
This Pear, Parsnip and Ginger soup likely isn’t sweet enough to be a dessert soup, but that is easily remedied by adding brown sugar, date syrup or agave syrup. Start by stirring in two tablespoons, then taste and adjust as your tastebuds dictate. Be sure to add a little at a time because you always can put more sweetener in, but you can’t take it out once it’s in the pot.
Yield
This Pear, Parsnip and Ginger Soup recipe yields approximately 64 ounces of soup, give or take a few ounces depending on how juicy the pears are. Plan on serving 8 cups or 4 to 6 bowls.
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If you enjoy Pear, Parsnip & Ginger Soup, you may also like Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 90 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 6 pears peeled, cored, chopped
- 6 parsnips peeled
- 1 Vidalia onion medium, chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 2-3 TB fresh ginger grated
- 2 TB olive oil for roasting
- 1 TB olive oil for sauteeing
- 1 TB butter
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup heavy cream or non-dairy milk
- Kosher salt
- pepper
- sage leaves garnish
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 425. Place parsnips in a roasting pan and brush with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast for 20-25 minutes until the parsnips soften and start to brown (caramelize). Remove from oven to cool.
- While the parsnips are roasting, melt the butter and remaining tablespoon of olive oil to a Dutch oven or soup pot. Add the onions, celery and pears and saute for 10-15 minutes until all ingredients have softened. Set aside.
- Place parsnips in food processor, add pear/onion/celery mix and pulse until smooth. Depending on the size of your machine you may need to do this in several batches.
- Move squash mixture from food processor into a large pot. Stir in the vegetable stock, heavy cream and ginger. Taste the soup to check for seasoning – you may want to add salt and pepper.
- Simmer the soup over medium-low heat for 30-60 minutes to give the ingredients time to marry. Place in bowls or cups and serve as is or add garnish.
