5 Star Parsnip Apple Soup

• 1/2 cup Butter
• 1/2 Vidalia or other sweet onion, chopped
• 1 Shallot, minced
• 1 pound Parsnips, peeled & thinly sliced
• 4 Cortland or Granny Smith apples, peeled & chopped
• 1 1/2 cups Riesling or Gewurztraminer wine
• 1 1/2 cups Apple Cider
• 4 cups Unsalted Chicken Stock
• 1 Bouquet Garni ( 1 crushed cinnamon stick, 2 allspice berries, 2 whole cloves) in cheesecloth
• 1 pinch Cardamom
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• Salt & White pepper, to taste

1. Peel and thinly slice the parsnips. You want to look for small to medium sized evenly shaped parsnips. (They look like white carrots.) The larger ones take on a 'woodsy' taste.
2. Peel and chop the apples into about 1/4 inch dice. Chop the onion and shallot.
3. In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and shallot. Sweat them- (very low heat, do not brown) until translucent.
4. Add the wine and cider, then the Parsnips and apples and the Bouquet Garni. (* you can put the spices into a tea ball if you don't have cheesecloth.) Cook until tender. DO NOT BROWN. Reduce by about 70%.
5. Add the stock and simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove the Bouquet Garni. Puree until smooth. Stir in the cream. Season to taste with white pepper and salt.
6. ** If you don't have whole spices, you can use 2 pinches of Ceylon Cinnamon and Cardamom, 1 pinch each cloves & allspice. About 1/4 tsp. white pepper. I would add them when you are sweating the onion and shallot.
7. Garnish with crushed hazelnuts or chives. Crumbled bacon is a nice choice too.

butter, vidalia, shallot, apples, wine, apple cider, chicken, bouquet garni, cardamom, heavy cream, salt

Taken from food52.com/recipes/74972-5-star-parsnip-apple-soup (may not work)