Spiced Parsnip Soup

Fran Stearns Memorial Bridge

Over the bridge and through the woods to the parsnip patch we went.

The weather was rainy in the high 40's and which made digging the parsnips easy even though it was cold and messy. My souper hubby Eric did the hard work while I picked up and cleaned the parsnips. I have not done much cooking with parsnips, but my mother wanted us to grow them in our garden. You just plant them in the spring and after the ground has been frozen in the winter, you can then dig this vegetable. We dug them in the fall and took them over to my mother, our parsnip expert, but she said to leave them for the winter dig - they were too tough and did not have the good flavor. The pioneers planted parsnips so when their food supply became sparse in the winter, they could go and dig them. For sure, we will plant parsnips this year, after tasting the tantalizing flavor of this soup with the garnish of garlic and mustard seed. This is so easy to make with only a few ingredients. Enjoy and savor the taste!


Spiced Parsnip Soup - Souper Sarah

from - The Soup Bible - Debra Mayhew

This pale, creamy-textured soup is given a special touch with an aromatic, spiced garlic-and-mustard-seed garnish.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 6
3 tablespoons butter
1 onion,chopped
5 1/2 cusps diced parsnips
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup of light half-and-half
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, cut into julienne strips
3 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chopped onion

Parsnip - cleaned and ready to dice.



Diced parsnips

1 - Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the onion and parsnips and fry slowly for about 3 minutes.

2 - Stir in the spices and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.




3 - Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes until the parsnips are tender. Cool slightly, then puree with a hand blender until smooth. Add the half-and half and heat through slowly over low heat.

4 - Heat the olive oil in a small pan. Add the julienne strips of garlic and the yellow mustard seeds and fry quickly until the garlic is beginning to brown and the mustard seeds start to pop and splutter. Be careful not to over cook the garlic. Remove from the heat.

5- Ladle the soup into warm soup bowls and pour a little of the hot spice mixture over each. Serve at once.

Oyster crackers are sooo good with this soup!

I changed and tweaked some of the ingredients in this recipe. It was a real adventure this week with digging and trying the different flavors that were used in this recipe. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

I'm going to do a post in the middle of the week with the recipes for the next month and a shopping list. I find it helps when you buy the ingredients ahead of time and are able to make soup at a minutes notice!

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Thank you souper Eric for being the photographer and helping with all the editing each week, I couldn't do it without you!

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The thought for the week - For the healthiest food, eat close to the source.

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Happy souping until we meet again!

Souper Sarah