This Chestnut and Parsnip Soup is sponsored by the lovely people at Vitamix who sent me the Vitamix Professional 750 Series to play with. In return I agreed to post an honest review!
Soup season
It's November, which is well and truly soup season. With temperatures dropping I am all about warm, comforting bowls of soup when I get home from work.
When I received an invitation to try a Vitamix Professional 750 Series Blender, it couldn't have come at a better time! I was already living off of freshly made soup.
The Vitamix has five pre-programmed settings: one for smoothies, one for hot soups, one for frozen desserts, and one for purées. Wondering what the fifth is? Well that's the automated self-cleaning function! That's right, not only is this clever bit of kit going to make you a warming bowl of soup, it's also going to clean itself after. How good is that! Making dinner has never been easier!
How to make soup with a Vitamix blender
You may be a little dubious (like I was) that a blender can make a bowl of soup from scratch. But, the Vitamix really is that clever. The famous blades whizz round so fast that you can get it to a simmer just by using the friction of the blades alone, when you use the 'Hot Soup' function the blades spin so fast you really do end up with a steaming hot bowl of soup!
Some recipes will take to the blender better than others. If a recipe calls for roasted vegetables (this Roasted Tomato Soup) you can't skip out the roasting stage. BUT, what it can do is save you the mess of roasting the veggies, blending the soup, and then heating it on the hob. Just roast your veggies and the Vitamix will do the rest.
I've also tried my spicy black bean soup, and my quick and easy peanut soup in the Vitamix, both of which work a treat!
Review of the Vitamix blender
So now I've had a chance to play with the blender what did I really think?
Pros: its super easy to set up and start using. Just place the blender jug on top of the base and off you go!
This is one super powerful blender with lots of cool features. Being able to heat up food makes life so much easier. I've always associated blenders with extra washing up but being able to make soup in just one gadget that has a self-cleaning function has made me completely change my opinion!
It's also a lot quieter than I was expecting when using the low speed settings. My old blender was a noisy machine that woke up the whole block of flats when I made a smoothie on a Sunday morning. Now I can blend in peace knowing I'm not going to disturb our neighbours!
The power behind the blades really is phenomenal too. Again, my old blender really struggled with even the simplest of tasks. Frozen fruit was difficult and nut butters almost impossible! This will blitz anything in seconds. With this blender you are able to get the smoothest of finishes. Amazing.
Cons: I'll be brutally honest here. There is one flaw that won't be insignificant for most people. But there is only one, and that's the price. With a price tag of £650 this isn't going to be for everyone. Personally I spend way more on kitchen gadgets than I should and I'm sure many foodies wouldn't bat an eyelid at the cost. It is worth the money.
Seasonal ingredients
Enough about the blender. Lets talk about this soup!
I've deliberately gone for seasonal ingredients. You'll find parsnips at their best between October and March in the UK. Supposedly the best tasting parsnips are harvested after the first frost. They are a hardy winter vegetable that goes perfect in this winter soup.
Chestnuts are another ingredient that is at its best this time of year. The nuts drop from the trees between mid-September and mid-October so if you're looking for fresh Chestnuts now is the perfect time! You can of course use pre-cooked vacuum packed chestnuts which I've done here. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find fresh chestnuts in our local grocery store or supermarket but the pre-cooked are super convenient and help to keep this a quick and easy recipe.
Put parsnips and chestnuts together and you have a quintessential, British, seasonal soup! It almost tastes like Christmas!
The recipe
Chestnut and Parsnip Soup with Crispy Bacon
Equipment
- Blender with hot soup setting
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp. crème fraiche
- 750 ml vegetable stock hot
- 175 ml white wine
- 200 g chestnuts pre-cooked
- 4 parsnips peeled and chopped
- ½ leek
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves only
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon tumeric
- 6 rashers bacon optional
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients minus the bacon into the blender jug (liquids first followed by the solid ingredients).
- Place the blender jug on to the base and select the 'Hot Soup' function.
- Start the machine and let the programmed cycle run (roughly 5 minutes in total) by which point the soup should be silky smooth and steaming hot!
- While the soup is cooking, fry the strips of crispy bacon in a large frying pan. Once crispy dice into small pieces. (Optional)
- Serve the soup with a drizzle of creme fraiche, a sprinkling of the thyme and the crispy bacon bits.
Notes
Nutrition
Top tip: The crispy bacon bits are only sprinkled on top of this recipe - think of them as a seasoning or a garnish! This means it can easily be made vegetarian - which my other half is very thankful for!
More soup recipes
What other soups would you like to see on the blog?
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
I have a few friends who have Vitamix blenders and they absolutely adore them. I love the heating up food feature. I hope you have fun playing around with yours. 🙂
Rob says
Well this looks delicious. I'll have to leave the bacon bits off as a veggie. What would you recommend instead? Crispy onions or toasted nuts maybe?
Emma Walton says
Hey Rob crispy onions would definitely be my preference. Will have to do that for the OH next time o make him it (hes veggie too) toasted chestnuts would also be awesome!
Sarah says
Your soup sounds delicious - I love parsnip in soup!
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ says
This soup sounds wonderful but seriously I need a blender that can do all that 🙂
Emma Walton says
It is delicious. Until Santa brings you a vitamix you can always roast the veggies with a little oil in the oven first. Once soft then chuck them in your regular blender and blitz until smooth. You'll then need to reheat on the hob.
Angela - Patisserie Makes Perfect says
Hmm I've always been interested in vitamix, I've heard they're great. This soup looks great and as it gets colder I really do want more soup.
Emma Walton says
I can't fault it yet Angela. It's definitely a professional, quality piece of kit 🙂 and ideal for soup season 😉
Platter Talk says
I'm going to try your recipe. It sounds like fall, to me!
Emma Walton says
I'm glad you like it! You can't get more seasonal than this soup that's for sure! Do send me a pic if you make it!
Sarah says
Bacon is my favorite. Parsnips are a close second...so, basically, this looks like soup perfection! Can't wait to try it out!!!
Emma Walton says
Wow, ideal recipe for you then Sarah 😛 enjoy!
Ceri Jones says
Such amazing flavours in this soup Emma. I adore the sweet flavour of chestnuts and parsnips together in a savoury soup. Need to get my soup making apron on for this!
Emma Walton says
I'm glad you like it Ceri. Do let me know if you give it a try 🙂
munchies&munchkins says
This looks so good Emma, I have had a Vitamin for about 4 years now and I really love it, mine is the older style so I am eyeing up your newer one with envy! xx
Emma Walton says
Hahaha good to hear you've had the Vitamix for so long and still love it 🙂 I don't think I will ever get bored of it!
Katie Bryson says
Power blenders really are amazing pieces of kit that you wonder how you ever lived without!!!! Your soup looks and sounds incredible... crispy bacon on top... lordy be!
Emma Walton says
Genuinely Katie - both the other half an I have wondered what we did before! Soup is a favourite of ours and is now ten times easier to make!
plasterer bristol says
yum these sound awesome. Thanks for this little recipe. simon.