Alice Zaslavsky’s parsnip and pear soup with cheesy toast tops – recipe

‘It’s très french onion soup, with a root and fruit twist’: Alice Zaslavsky’s grate parsnip and pear soup with cheesy mustardy gratin toasts. Stylist and food prep: Madeleine Dobbins. Photograph: Eugene Hyland/The Guardian

Some vegetables are a Tuesday night no-brainer, while others feel like more of a Sunday schlep. Poor parsnip falls into the latter category, relegated to slow braises and weekend roasts.

Weather-resistant root veg such as parsnips, swedes and celeriac are affordable at this time of year but their fibrousness doesn’t yield as easily or quickly as tender, fair-weather veg.