If there’s one thing I love about this colder weather, it’s making big, hearty bowls of warm soup. I am a huge fan all sorts of root vegetables but I think parsnips have to be one of my absolute favourites. I love their sweet flavour and combined with the sweet potato and spicy ginger, it is a firm favourite in our household. I like to serve mine with crispy bacon on top but you could add a swirl of cream or some crunchy croutons.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1/2 an onion

1 medium sweet potato

2 parnips

thumb sized piece of root ginger

1 litre vegetable stock

bacon (optional)

seasoning

You will need to:

1. Dice the onion, add a glug of oil to a large pan  and soften the onion over a gentle heat. Cook for around 5 minutes until the onion is beginning to soften but isn’t coloured.

2. Peel and dice the sweet potato and parsnips and add them to the pan.

3. Peel and finely grate the ginger and add it to the vegetables then cover everything with the stock.

4. Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes until all the vegetables are cooked through.

5. Liquidise the soup and add a little more stock if needed – I like my soups nice and thick but you can thin it with more stock or cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Serve with your topping of choice and warm crusty bread.