As the weather gets cooler and the days get shorter, one thing rises in popularity. Soups! Soups are a fantastic option for Autumn and Winter. They are hot and hearty, packing in heaps of nutrition. They fill the entire body with a massive sense of warmth that gets right to the bones. A good soup can truly fill you with life and energy! This parsnip soup is one of my favourites, and also a favourite of my mother in law!
This Parsnip Soup Recipe
Root vegetables always lend themselves to fantastic soups. Potatoes form the base of many vegetable soups out there, and carrot & coriander is one of the most popular soups out there! This, I think, comes down to 2 main reaasons. Firstly, they tend to be quite starchy vegetables. This gives a soup a lovely thickness and natural creaminess. Secondly, they have a good amount of earthiness and a sweetness that comes out with cooking. This ultimately gives a full, rounded flavour base with a lot of room for creativity.
Parsnips are a very underutilised vegetable in my opinion. In the UK they are very popular roasted with a Sunday dinner, but they do not see much usage outside of here. They are so cheap and nutritious that they deserve to be used more! When thinking about how to use them more, my mind was taken to parsnip purees I’ve eaten at nice restaurants. These have always had such wonderful velvetiness and depth of flavour! I thought that taking that and turning it into a full meal as a hearty autumnal soup seemed perfect.
I wanted to make use of bold, earthy spices to complement the natural flavour of the parsnips. Curry spices seemed perfect, as they also feature heavily in dishes with a creaminess and sweetness. This flavour base also feels very fitting for an autumnal or wintery recipe. The result is rich, warming, smooth and packed with bold flavour!
Homemade or Shop Bought Curry Powder
This recipe makes use of curry powder to provide the flavouring. There are many varieties of curry powder available in shops (particularly in the UK), and you can of course use wichever you prefer. If you are interested in heightening the recipe, or you are not able to get a premade pwder, I highly recommend making your own! Recipes feel so much more rewarding when you have made every element from scratch. The process of making the curry powder itself takes very little time and only uses ingredients that are widely available and accesible. You will probably have most of them in your larder already!
Curried Parsnip Soup. Warming & Delicious!
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- If you are making your own curry powder, add the ingredients to a pestle and mortar or spice grinder and blend to a powder.
- Heat a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat and add the ghee or vegetable oil.
- Peel your parsnips and cut into large chunks. roughtly 2cm long. Try to keep the overall size as even as possible so they cook at the same pace!
- Dice your onions and add to the pot. Sseaason with salt and pepper. Cook for 4 or 5 minutes, until softened and golden.
- Greate or mince your garlic and add to the pot, mixing well. Cook for another 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add in your parsnips and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Add the curry powder in and cok for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Pour in the vegetable stock bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Let this cook for 10 minutes, until the parsnips have fully softened.
- Reduce the heat to a minimum and add the garam massala powder. Taste and season to adjust the salt and blend the soup until smooth when you are happy.
- Finally, add in your cream and mix well. At this point, you can decide to adjust the thickness of the soup if you want. If it is too thick, add some hot water. If it is too thin, allow it to cook for a bit more to thicken.
- Serve and enjoy!
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