On a raw February day when the wind is like an absolute knife cutting through you with bitter cold, lunch cries out for soup. Have it in a mug and warm your hands as well or, show it off in a beautiful bowl! The blue bowl here just set off the golden turmeric colour of this parsnip soup perfectly though its delicious taste would be the same whatever you served it in! Parsnips somehow manage to be sweet yet earthy and this soup with its spicing makes them (and me!) sing.
This is a simple soup to make and uses a mild curry powder though you could always blend your own if you wanted to experiment. A good basic blend is to use equal quantities of ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, fenugreek with as much or as little chill powder as you like. Have fun experimenting by varying the proportions or adding a favourite spice – I promise that the parsnip can take it.
To further customise this you can garnish ihe soup in lots of different ways. Try it with nigella seeds, cream and flat leaf parsley or coriander. It would be lovely with some crispy bacon on top or some parsnip crisps (made from parsnip shavings either deep fried or baked). Or how about some caramelised apple slices as parsnip and apple go so well together?
Muddy parsnips from the garden
Ingredients (serves 6)
- 4 medium parsnips (approx 500g) though exact weight doesn’t really matter
- 2 medium onion, peeled and sliced
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
- 3 tbsp oil (I use rapeseed)
- 750ml vegetable or chicken stock
- 200ml milk (dairy or non-dairy)
- salt and pepper
- 1tbsp mild curry powder or your favourite spices
- Garnishes of choice (optional)
Method
- Peel, core and chop the parsnips into 1cm cubes and add to a pan with the oil, potatoes and onion. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir well over a medium heat and cover pan so the vegetables steam and soften – about 10 mins. You will probably need to stir occasionally to stop vegetables sticking to bottom.
- Remove cover and stir in curry/spice mix.
- Keep stirring for about a minute or until spices start to release their fragrance.
- Add the stock and bring to a simmer.
- Cover with lid, turn heat down and continue simmering for a further 15 mins
- Remove from heat, add the milk and blitz until soup is smooth. Season to taste.
- When ready to serve, return to heat until simmering.
- Serve and garnish as required.
This soup freezes really well so I often make a double batch.