Parnsip and fennel soup with caramelised chestnuts

This morning when Eddie and I walked to school through the fields (it's a longer way but much more beautiful and also you avoid the mad traffic with all the pollution for half of the walk), the ground with low lying grass was white with frost. Not surprising really, as it's almost the end of November. On the way back home I popped in Waitrose to get some fresh bread, and saw the most gorgeous plump fennel bulbs. I grabbed one to make some parsnip and fennel soup.

Parsnip and fennel soup with caramelised chestnuts
Ingredients:
2 medium parnsips, peeled and cubed
1 big fennel bulb, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 banana shallot, halved
2cm of ginger root, grated
2 tbsp vegetable stock powder (I used Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon powder)
100ml semi-skimmed milk
200g whole chestnuts, cooked and peeled (e.g. Merchant Gourmet)
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
1tbsp maple syrup
Slice the fennel, peel and cube parsnips, and halve a shallot. Place the vegetables in a small tray, drizzle with the olive oil and roast for half an hour in the oven at 180C.
Open a packet of cooked whole chestnuts, cut each one in half. Put the chestnuts in another small roasting tray or dish, drizzle with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and maple syrup, mix well to coat all pieces. Roast in the oven for half an hour at 180C.

Remove the vegetables from the oven, put them in a medium sized pan, cover with water. Add the vegetable stock powder or stock cube. Add the milk, the grated ginger and bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or so. Whizz the soup with the blender.

Serve the soup with the chestnuts (they sink in). 

That's proper comfort food - sweet and savoury.

Adding my recipe to Vegetable Palette Linky on A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table blog run by Shaheen. Theme of the month: White vegetables.