Parsnips are packed with fibre, potassium and vitamin C and the spices in this dish will do nothing but good for your immune system which will probably need a helping hand at this time of the year. This makes a large batch of soup, which can easily be frozen. You can also halve the recipe if needs be.
(serves 8)
Ingredients
700g parsnips
1 brown onion, diced
1 stick celery, diced
1 large or two small cloves of garlic
2 medium sized potatoes
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 heaped teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground ginger
2 vegetable stock cubes
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Garnish: double cream, cayenne pepper, chopped coriander and nigella seeds (optional)
Method
Place the oil in a large pot with the chopped onion and celery and gently cook the vegetables on a low heat until soft. Whilst you’re doing this, peel and chop the parsnips in to small (ish) pieces. Add chopped garlic to the onion and celery then cook out for a minute or two before adding the parsnips. Slowly cook the parsnips for about 10-15 minutes. The long, slow cooking at this stage will help enhance the flavour of the soup but you need to check on the parsnips and stir them from time to time to make sure they don’t catch and burn on the bottom of the pan.
Add the dried spices, stir then fill the pot with enough water to cover the vegetables. Peel the potatoes, roughly chop and then add them to the pot. Add salt, pepper and the vegetable stock cubes, bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes.
Blitz the soup using a stick blender until smooth. Add some boiling water if the soup is too thick then check the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if necessary.
Serve topped with some double cream, cayenne pepper, chopped coriander and nigella seeds (optional).
