Parsnip and Potato Soup with Roasted Pear Puree

Last week I had intended on making Rachael Ray's Pear and Parsnip Bisque from her October Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.  But I realized I had forgotten to pick up heavy cream at the store so my plan was foiled. But I did remember the parsnips that trip to the store so I needed to figure out something to do with them.  Rather than venturing to the store again I decided I would make something using ingredients I had on hand.  I also came across a recipe on epicurious last week when I was in search of recipes using bosc pears that sounded delicious, Mashed Potatoes and Turnips with Roasted Pear Puree. Since I didn't have the complete ingredients to make each of these spearately, I came up with my own recipe which was inspired by both of these recipes.

Ingredients
1lb parsnips, peeled and cubed
5 medium sized yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
3.5 cups of chicken broth
2 shallots, chopped
1/4 cup soy creamer

In a Dutch oven I heated 1 tablespoon of olive oil and unsalted butter and then added the shallots. Cook the shallots until they soften up a bit.  Add the parsnips and potatoes, season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth.  Cook until the potatoes and parsnip soften up, they should be able to be cut with a fork.  Add 1/4 cup of soy creamer and begin to puree the soup with a hand blender   until it is smooth.  If you are not happy with the consistency you can always add a bit more broth to thin it out a little more.

For the roasted pear puree I followed the instructions from the second epicurious recipe but tapered the amounts back a bit.  The taste of the puree ended up being quite delicious, however I was a little disappointed in the coloring, I was hoping for something a little richer looking.  I think next time around I would roast the pears in a pyrex or corningware dish rather than on a cookie sheet with a baking mat.  I found that the juices just cooked to the pan so I wasn't able to use as much of the juice as I would have liked.

5 bosc pears, peeled, cored and cut into large chunks
2.5 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey

I roasted these for about an hour in total, 30 minutes on each side and then added them to the blender and pureed. I did add a splash of apple juice to the roasted pear puree when I was blending it.

To serve, add a couple ladles of the soup to a bowl and then swirl in a little of the roasted pear puree. Salt and pepper to taste. I also garnished with a little chopped green onion.