Culinary Guides

A cold-weather bisque that leans on two humble winter vegetables: sweet parsnip and mild cauliflower, cooked soft and blended smooth. A little cream rounds it out and a scatter of crisp bacon on top gives it crunch. It is elegant enough for company but easy enough for a Tuesday.

• 3 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Hefty pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets
• 1 large parsnip, chopped, unpeeled
• 4 cups homemade vegetable broth or chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Freshly chopped parsley for garnish

Cook the bacon and aromatics

1. Fry the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, then lift it out onto paper towels, leaving about 1 tablespoon of fat in the pot.
2. Add the butter and the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, salt, thyme, and nutmeg and cook 1 minute more.

Simmer and blend

1. Add the cauliflower and parsnip and toss to coat, then pour in the broth and add the bay leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer about 25 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Discard the bay leaves.
2. Blend the soup until smooth, in batches or with an immersion blender.

Finish and serve

1. Return the soup to the pot, stir in the heavy cream, and season with salt and pepper. Keep it on low heat about 10 minutes to let the flavors meld.
2. Ladle into bowls and top each with the crisp bacon and chopped parsley.

Grower's tip: leave parsnips in the ground until after the first hard frost before you dig them. The cold converts their starches to sugar, so frost-touched parsnips are noticeably sweeter, which is exactly what carries a bisque like this.

Grow the roots for this bowl. Start our parsnip seeds and cauliflower seeds, with onions and thyme for the base.