Community Recipes is a recurring feature where I ask a community member to share a vegan recipe with us. This week I’m featuring Jessica Levinson and her Velvety Vegan Parsnip Pear Soup. This soup is perfect for fall and winter and would be a great soup to serve for Hanukkah party.
More about Jessica
Jessica Levinson, MS, RDN, CDN is a twin Mom and a nationally recognized nutrition expert with a focus on culinary nutrition and communications. She is the author of the super helpful and practical book: 52-Week Meal Planner: The Complete Guide to Planning Menus, Groceries, Recipes, and More.
Jessica’s Velvety Vegan Parsnip Pear Soup
Her nutritious and delicious parsnip pear soup recipe has a sweet and savory taste that adults and children love. It is pureed, creamy and dairy-free. You can eat it plain or garnish it with an easy to make cranberry coulis that adds a tarte pop to the soup. This soup can be served as a simple dinner meal or dressed up with the cranberry colis for a special occasion meal.
Should you omit the oil?
Jessica uses a tiny bit of oil in her recipe. If you are oil-free, you can omit it. If you want to learn more about the nutritional value of oil, watch this video. Here is a quick article that gives three compelling reasons to reduce or omit oil from our diets.
Vegan soups are a simple and healthy habit
Preparing and eating low-fat dairy-free vegan soup is such a simple and healthy habit. Some of the main benefits are making vegan soups a consistent part of your dietary pattern are:
- More Fiber: all the vegetables means that the soup gives your body the fiber it needs for health
- Lots of Hydration: the non-dairy liquid means that the soup hydrates your body
- Feelings of warmth and fullness: Warm soup feels so good in our stomachs and it gives us a feeling of comfortable satiation, that good full feeling that we get when we eat.
For this recipe, Jessica uses the following key ingredients:
- Maple syrup
- Olive oil
- Low sodium vegetable broth
- Pears
- Parsnip
I hope that you enjoy Jessica’s soup. You can take a peek into her Jessica’s kitchen and see more of her recipes here.
Print
Jessica’s Velvety Vegan Parsnip Pear Soup
Description
A simple, wholefood, creamy vegan soup for everyday and special meals.
Ingredients
For the Soup:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium shallot, diced (1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)
1 1/2 pounds parsnip, peeled and chopped (4 to 5 cups)
1 pound pears, chopped* (3 cups)
6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
2 cups water
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
For the Cranberry Coulis (optional)
1 cup frozen cranberries
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon water, divided
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
In a medium to large soup pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and saute for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until shallots have softened and become translucent.
Add parsnips to the pot and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the shallots and garlic don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Lower heat to medium, cover the pot, and cook 5 minutes until parsnip is tender and starting to brown.
Add pears to the pot and stir. Cover the pot and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Uncover the pot and add broth and thyme. Raise heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat, cover pot, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove soup from heat, uncover, and let cool 5 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth.
Return soup to medium heat, add 2 cups water, and simmer 10 minutes.
Stir in maple syrup, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste.
For the Cranberry Coulis:
in a small saucepan, combine cranberries, 1/4 cup water, and sugar and bring to a boi
Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until the cranberries have popped and you have a thickened sauce.
Remove from heat and cool about 5 minutes.
Place a fine strainer over a bowl and use a spatula or the back of a spoon to help pass the liquid through the strainer, leaving the solids behind.**
Add lemon juice and remaining tablespoon of water to cranberry coulis and whisk to combine.
Serve soup with cranberry coulis drizzled on top.
3 Responses