A sweet and velvety 'Parsnip and Apple Soup' recipe from Around Britain Cookbook. The parsnip and cooking apple combine wonderfully, and blended with cream, this makes a really smooth starter.
Ingredients
Butter 25g (1oz)
Parsnips 680g (1½lb), peeled and sliced
Bramley cooking apple 1, cored, peeled and sliced
Vegetable stock 1.25 litres (2 pints)
Sage leaves 4, plus extra to garnish
Cloves 2
Single cream 150ml (5fl oz)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dessert apple 1, cored, peeled, sliced and fried in 25g (1oz) butter, to garnish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Mix the dates, apricots, ginger, rum and orange juice together with half of the sugar. Leave to soak while making the pastry
Put the flour and salt in a bowl and add 110g (4oz) of the butter. Rub in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the remaining sugar and then the egg yolk and about 2 tbsp water to bind together
Knead the pastry lightly on a floured surface. Roll out half of the pastry and use to line a greased 25cm (10in) flat pie plate
Spread the fruit mixture over the pastry and dot with the remaining butter. Brush the edge with a little water
Roll out the remaining pastry and use to cover the pie. Make a hole in the centre to allow steam to escape. If you have any pastry left over, use it to form leaves with which to decorate the top of the pie. Brush with milk and bake for 30-35 minutes. Sprinkle with demerara sugar and serve hot with cream