By Caroline Gladstone

The secret to this is having a really delicious rich vegetable stock. This will give the soup a deep textured flavour. The ideal is to make your own, but if you can’t, be sure to choose a good quality one.

Carrots and parsnips go beautifully together as roast vegetables and they work equally well as complimentary flavours in this soup.

This serves four, but you can double up the quantities and freeze the rest.

Ingredients.

• 1 tbsp olive oil or a large knob of butter

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and squashed

• 5 thyme sprigs, tied together with butcher’s twine

• 3 large carrots, chopped into 1cm rounds

• 3 large parsnips, chopped into 1cm rounds

• 1 ltr hot vegetable stock

• Double cream (optional)

• Sea salt and pepper to season

Method.

Heat the oil or butter on a heavy bottomed pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook gently until the onion is soft and translucent. Be careful not to let the onion burn, or it will taste bitter. If it catches, then add a bit of water. 

Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes and then drop in the bunch of thyme. Cook for another couple of minutes and then add the carrots and parsnip and stir well to coat the vegetables in the flavoured oil/butter. 

Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

Remove the thyme bunch, which by now will just be the sticks – the leaves will be in the soup. 

Blitz the soup with a stick blender until it is completely smooth. Check the seasoning and divide the soup between four warmed bowls.

If you want to add a little richness, swirl the double cream into each bowl.

Serve with a thick slice of crusty sourdough.

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