Butternut Pumpkin, Parsnip and Carrot Soup

Butternut Pumpkin, Parsnip and Carrot Soup

I made a big pot of butternut pumpkin, parsnip and carrot soup in preparation for a family holiday next week. There’s no need to be fussy about the quantities here. You can use different vegetables, such as sweet potato, potato, leek, celery, or golden beetroots. I think the apple adds a lovely sweetness to the soup, but you could always add a tablespoon of maple syrup if you like.

I also love the flavour of freshly grated nutmeg. However, if it’s not your favourite spice, try a little grated ginger, or leave the spice out altogether. I love to toast my own pumpkin seeds to use as a garnish. Feel free to garnish the soup with other crunchy things, such as walnuts, toasted buckwheat or pangrattato.

This butternut pumpkin, parsnip and carrot soup is quite thick, so you may wish to thin it out with a bit more stock. If you prefer a richer soup, stir in some cream. Otherwise,  you could add a dollop of Greek yoghurt, or a little swirl of olive oil.

Other lovely soup recipes:

Creamy corn soup with cashews is another lovely simple soup to make: Creamy Corn Soup with Cashews

If you haven’t made pangrattato before, you might like to try making roasted cauliflower with pangrattato: Roasted Cauliflower with Pangrattato

Print Recipe

Butternut pumpkin, parsnip and carrot soup

Butternut pumpkin, parsnip and carrot soup is a comforting winter soup that is easy to make and feeds a hungry hoard.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Servings: 8 people

Ingredients

• 1 large brown onion, peeled and chopped substitute with leek
• 2 carrots, washed and chopped
• 2 parsnips, washed and chopped
• 1 butternut pumpkin, peeled and chopped (about 1 kg), reserve the seeds
• 1 apple (any kind), washed and choppd
• 1.5 L vegetable or chicken stock
• 4 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra for the pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 nutmeg, grated (approx 1 tsp ground) substitute with freshly grated ginger
• flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a wide-based deep saucepan and cook onion for a few minutes until translucent.
• Add the the remaining olive oil, then stir in the parsnip, carrot, apple, pumpkin and nutmeg.
• Add the stock, bring to a boil, turn down heat down to a simmer, cover the pot and cook for about 20 minutes until the vegetables have softened. Turn off the heat.
• Leave the soup to cool a little, then blend with a handheld blender.
• Season to taste, garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds and serve with your favouurite bread.

Toasted pumpkin seeds

• Scrape away any pumpkin flesh from the seeds and wash them in a sieve.
• Pat the seeds dry and lay them out flat on a lined baking tray.
• Sprinkle with a little salt and roast in a 180°C (160°C fan-forced) oven for about 10 minutes. They'll start to pop when they're ready!
• Sprinkle on top of the soup, or store in an airtight contained for up to a week.

Notes

The soup will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. It is suitable to freeze.