A Magical Spicy Parsnip and Carrot Soup: A Recipe

Parsnips are something I don’t use a lot. It has something to do with the quality of them – often woody. In truth, I don’t actually look at them at the market, just walk straight past.

But I have some fabulous ones this week. As you know it is so busy here that sometimes I don’t have time to breathe. At the same time, my cleaner quit and one of my valuable staff took 3 weeks holiday on the Gold Coast to get married! AAAAaaaaggggghhhh! So when I received an offer to help by doing my shopping I ever so thankfully accepted. And she found some wonderful things, including half a dozen fleshy, sweet parsnips.

I was about to roast them with some thyme, but at the last minute, I decided to make a soup. And what a soup it was.

Spicy Parsnip and Carrot Soup

Source : inspired by The Soup Bible
Cuisine: English?
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 55 mins
Serves: 4 – 6 people, depending how you use it

ingredients
3 Tblspn (40g) butter
675g of carrots and parsnips, peeled and diced. I used 3 parsnips and 1.5 carrots.
1 onion
1.2l vegetable stock or water
1 tspn coriander powder
0.5 tspn cumin powder
0.5 tspn turmeric powder
0.25 tspn chilli powder
50ml single cream
1 Tblspn sunflower or olive oil
1 garlic clove, cut into julienne strips
2 tspn yellow mustard seeds
salt and freshly ground black pepper

method
Melt the butter in a large pan, and gently fry the onions, parsnips and carrots for about 3 minutes. Stir in the spices and cook for one minute more.

Add the stock, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes until the vegetables are cooked.

Puree in a blender or use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Add the cream and heat gently on a low heat.

While it is reheating, heat the oil in a small fryingpan and add the julienned strips of garlic and the yellow mustard seeds. Fry quickly until the garlic is beginning to brown and the mustard seeds start to pop and splutter. Remove from the heat.

Before serving, pour a little of the garlic mixture including oil on the top of each plate of soup.

The Soup Series

• Taking Stock - Making Great Vege Stocks
• Ginger Garlic Lentil Soup
• Golden Gentle Dal
• Spicy Rustic Red Lentil Soup with Thick Thick Yoghurt
• Take a Tomato - Quick Tomato Soup
• Tomato Rasam for a SPICE Hit!
• Urad Tamatar Dal (Urad Dal with Tomatoes)
• Velouté d’asperges (Cream of Asparagus Soup)

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