Sorry to disappoint you if you came here looking for lentil soup today. I was gifted with a bag of parsnips from someones garden and I need to use them pronto, so today you are getting Spiced Parsnip & Carrot Soup. I hope you don't mind too much!
Parsnips are a root vegetable which greatly resemble really pale, ghost-like carrots! They actually belong to the same family as carrots and parsley. Left in the ground to mature until the first frost, they get really sweet. I don't think my friend knows this, because this is the second bunch they have given me and we certainly haven't had a frost. They are still delicious, but not quite as sweet as they might have been.
My mother hated parsnips. I can remember her cooking them for us once. She had hated them since she was a child. She fried them in butter. I thought they were gorgeous. She still did not like them so that was the end of that! I, however, had fallen in love and it is a love affair which I carry on right up to this day.
Parsnips make wonderful additions to soups or stews and are unbelievably delicious when roasted with some honey and butter along side of your Sunday lunch. Christmas dinner would not be half as special were it not for the inclusion of honey butter roasted parsnips!
This soup recipe I am sharing today is an adaptation of a carrot soup that I used to make when I worked down South at the manor. The original recipe uses all carrots, but I really love the taste that comes from the inclusion of parsnips.
In fact I like it even better when parsnips are used in addition to carrots.
It is flavoured as well with onion and celery . . . delicious aromatics . . .
Garlic and grated fresh ginger root . . . mmmm . . .
Curry powder for a bit of a bite. I use a medium curry powder. Todd longs for me to use a stronger curry powder . . . but alas, I don't think my insides could take anything much spicier than this!
This is also lovely with a spoonful of sour cream swirled in the top. Simple, delicious and easy to make. What more could a person want?
Spiced Parsnip & Carrot Soup
Yield: 4Author: Marie RaynerSweet and nutty with a bit of a bite! Very nice.
ingredients:
- 1 TBS light olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 3 sticks celery, washed, trimmed and chopped
- 1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 TBS finely grated fresh ginger root
- 1/2 to 1 TBS curry powder (depending on your taste)
- pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 500g parsnips, peeled and chopped (a generous pound)
- 250g carrots, peeled and chopped (1/2 pound, generous)
- 1 liter of vegetable stock (abut 4 1/2 cups)
- Additional hot stock as needed
instructions:
How to cook Spiced Parsnip & Carrot Soup
- Heat the oil in a large deep saucepan. Add the chopped onion and celery, garlic, and grated ginger root. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, without allowing to brown. Stir in the curry powder and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the chopped parsnips and carrots. Stir to coat well in the aromatics. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Pour in the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook over low heat for a further 30 to 35 minutes, or until very soft. Remove from the heat and puree, using an immersion blender, until smooth. Return to the stove and add additional stock as needed to give you the right consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper and a pinch of cayenne if desired. Serve immediately in heated bowls. Alternately you can pour this soup into sealable freezer containers and freeze for up to 3 months.
No worries, I will do the lentil soup next week. Up tomorrow is a Back to the 60's Prawn/Shrimp Cocktail. They call large shrimps prawns over here in the UK! Go figure!