Soups On! Spiced Parsnip

I make soup a lot. It is one of my favourite things. If you have been reading along with some of my other Soups on! Posts (Click here for Garden Vegetable with Caramelized Onions and Creamy Leek and Potato) you’ll have a solid background on how easy they are. And yet, I think there are a lot of misconceptions around the ol’soup pot. Chiefly among these understandings is that soup can’t excite or surprise you. Pfft grow up.  It can be so comforting, so complex in flavour and yet so simple. It can warm you up on days both cold and wet. It can bring a little bit of calm to a hectic day. And it can blow your mind with flavour.

One of the soups I always fall back on is Spiced Parsnip. It’s creamy and smooth with an electrifying taste. Parsnips are not everyone’s vegetable and that's probably because not everyone has tried them! They are crosses between sweet potato and carrot in my mind, slightly sweet and starchy. Delicious.

When you are at the store, select firm parsnips. If it is near the end of the season (they are usually available locally from mid-summer to april-ish), up the spice in the soup to keep it on par. I like mine extra spicy with a little dollop of sour cream in the middle to round it all out. In this case, a little crispy pork cheek was sprinkled around to give it some extra texture.

Ingredients:

1lb parsnips, peeled and cut into 1” chunks (its about 2-3 medium parsnips)

4 tbsp butter

1 onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 tsp mild curry powder (see above, might have to play with it)

1200 ml chicken stock

140 ml cream

Toppings are optional (sour cream, bacon, green onion, chives, etc.)

Method:

• In a good sized soup pot, sauté the onion and parsnips in the butter over a medium high heat. Cook for about 10 minutes.
• Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
• Add the curry powder and stir constantly so it doesn't burn for about 30 seconds.
• Add the stock and scrap the bottom so all the spice gets well mixed in. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the parsnip is very tender. Depending on the size and age of the ol’snip it should take about 20-25 mins.
• Purée the soup in a blender or using an immersion blender until it is totally smooth. If you want to take it a step farther, pass the soup through a sieve. This will make the texture even smoother.
• Add the cream, season with salt and pepper and taste. Does it need more spice? Add it now and cook for a minute or two longer.
• Top however you would like it!