Princess Diana Ate This Easy One-Pot Soup 'Once a Week'

Princess Diana Ate This Easy One-Pot Soup ‘Once a Week’

Author gulfgrip Reading 5 min Views 1 Published by February 23, 2025

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Getty Images / Allrecipes

No matter how many years have passed since Princess Diana’s tragic, untimely death, she will always be remembered as the people’s princess. Everyone who met Princess Di has only had wonderful things to say about her personality, humanitarian efforts, and, of course, style—including her staff at Kensington Palace.

After her divorce, the Princess of Wales moved into Kensington Palace with her sons, William and Harry. She was given access to a private chef and she chose Buckingham Palace’s former chef, Darren McGrady, who has shared many fond memories of his time working for the princess online and in his book “Eating Royally.”

Around lunchtime, Princess Di would pop into McGrady’s kitchen and they would “chat about anything and everything that was going on,” McGrady recalls. Typically over a bowl of one of her favorite soups: Parsnip and Apple Soup with a Parmesan Chive Foam.

“I made this delicious soup … for Princess Diana about once a week,” McGrady shared on YouTube. “This was one of her favorites and she enjoyed it with a bowl of salad for lunch.”

Princess Diana's Favorite Soup

While the name—especially the Parmesan chive foam part—may sound fancy, the recipe is actually quite simple. The creamy soup calls for butter, parsnips, Granny Smith apples (or pears, if you prefer), onion, coriander, chicken bouillon (or chicken broth), salt, pepper, and heavy cream.

For the extra silky, cheesy foam, you’ll need to whip heavy cream to stiff peaks, then fold in some Parmesan cheese and fresh chives. While the step is optional, McGrady says the garnish “turns a good soup into a great one.”

To make the soup, add all the ingredients save for the heavy cream into a pot and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Then, add heavy cream and the vegetable mixture to a blender or use an immersion blender directly in the pot to blend until smooth. McGrady likes to grate an apple into the bottom of the serving bowls before ladling in the soup for some extra texture. Garnish with the foam, chives, and more apples—and you’ve got a dish fit for a princess.

“I made [this soup] for her all the time, especially at lunch and on cold winter’s days. The combination together just makes it so comforting on cold days," McGrady says.

It wasn’t just Princess Di’s favorite lunch, either—McGrady liked the recipe just as much.

“I always made extra of this recipe because I loved it so much. And when the princess had finished lunch and gone out of the kitchen that was when it was time for me to enjoy,” he says.

Chef John

How to Make Princess Diana's Favorite Parsnip and Apple Soup
Ingredients:

Soup

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Garnish

1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled

Instructions:

For the soup, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. When the butter has stopped foaming, add the parsnips, apple, and onion. Sauté until the onion is translucent and soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the coriander, water, and, bouillon cube. Bring the soup up to a gentle simmer, turn down the heat, and simmer until the parsnips are tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork.

Remove the soup from the heat and with a hand-held blender, purée the soup. You will need to let the soup cool down before blending.

After blending the soup, strain the contents through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any lumps. The soup can be made ahead up to this point and refrigerated for several days. Warm gently before continuing.

Stir in the cream, and season to taste with the salt and pepper. Let the soup get hot, but do not boil. Adjust the consistency, thinning with a little water if needed.

For the garnish, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form, then fold the Parmesan and 1 tablespoon of the chives into the whipped cream.

Grate some of the apple into the bottom of four warm soup bowls, and ladle the soup on top. Spoon the Parmesan cream on top of the soup, and garnish with the remaining 2 tablespoons of chives.

This recipe was adapted from "Eating Royally" by Darren McGrady, 2007.

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