PARSNIP & GINGER SOUP

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! I'm so glad the weather has improved, we were all going stir crazy! 
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We're now on a mad cleaning and tidying spree before the new year but as always, food still takes centre stage at our house!
 
There are so many parsnips and brussel sprouts in the shops just now for next to nothing! I bought two bags of parsnips yesterday for 5p each!
I can't resist a bargain, especially a foodie bargain and I detest food waste so I had to buy some!
I thought I'd share this lovely recipe for  parsnip soup, which is a great way to use them up!

We've been eating a lot of roast parsnips recently which we love but I have to admit I'm generally not a fan of parsnip soup. The classic parsnip and potato has a texture like wallpaper paste which I find most unappealing!

I came across this lovely recipe in The River Cottage Veg Everyday book by the lovely Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, which I adapted to make it vegan and I have to say it was rather delicious and not like wallpaper paste at all!

I am a big fan of adding lots of flavour to my dishes and am especially fond of ginger, garlic and turmeric, all great immune boosters at this time of year!
All of these superfoods are in this lovely soup, along with cayenne & cardamom, imparting a lovely warming, subtle flavour.

I topped it off with some toasted flaked almonds and a swirl of soya cream and I have to say it looked lovely and could happily grace a dinner table!

So if you have a few parsnips leftover from Christmas, please give this lovely soup a go, I'm sure you will enjoy it!

On a last note, I detest food waste and making soup is a fantastic way to use up leftover veggies, even ones which you think are past their best, they still have benefits for your health so please don't throw them away! 

So here is the recipe....

Ingredients
1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4-5 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
500g parsnips, peeled and sliced
750 ml of vegetable stock
250 ml plant based milk, I used soya
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To garnish
2 or 3 tablespoons flaked almonds, lightly toasted
1 or 2 tablespoons of soya cream

Method

1.  Heat the rapeseed oil in a large soup pan, over a medium low heat and cook the onion for around 10 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, ginger, cardamom, cumin and cayenne and stir for a minute or so.
3. Add the parsnips and stir until coated in the spices.
4. Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper and simmer until the parsnips are soft, around 15 minutes.
5. Puree the soup using a hand blender or transfer to a food processor and process until smooth.
6. Toast the almonds in a dry fying pan until just turning golden.
7. Serve the soup with a swirl of soya cream and toasted almonds.

​             .....your health in your hands....