Spiced Parsnip & Carrot Soup

 

Sorry to disappoint you if you came here looking for lentil soup today.  I was gifted with a bag of parsnips from someones garden and I need to use them pronto, so today you are getting Spiced Parsnip & Carrot Soup.  I hope you don't mind too much!  

  

Parsnips are a root vegetable which greatly resemble really pale, ghost-like carrots!  They actually belong to the same family as carrots and parsley.  Left in the ground to mature until the first frost, they get really sweet.   They are a delicious vegetable.  At least I think they are!  Even pre-frost!

 

My mother hated parsnips.  I can remember her cooking them for us once.  She had hated them since she was a child.  She fried them in butter. I thought they were gorgeous. She still did not like them so that was the end of that!  I, however, had fallen in love and it is a love affair which I carry on right up to this day.

  

Parsnips make wonderful additions to soups or stews and are unbelievably delicious when roasted with some honey and butter along side of your Sunday lunch.  Christmas dinner would not be half as special were it not for the inclusion of honey butter roasted parsnips!

 

This soup recipe I am sharing today is an adaptation of a carrot soup that I used to make when I worked down South at the manor. The original recipe uses all carrots, but I really love the taste that comes from the inclusion of parsnips.

 

In fact I like it even better when parsnips are used in addition to carrots.

  

It is flavoured as well with onion and celery  . . .  delicious aromatics . . .

 

Garlic and grated fresh ginger root  . . .  mmmm . . .

 

Curry powder for a bit of a bite.  I use a medium curry powder.  Todd longs for me to use a stronger curry powder  . . . but alas, I don't think my insides could take anything much spicier than this!

  

This is also lovely with a spoonful of sour cream swirled in the top.  Simple, delicious and easy to make.  What more could a person want? 

Spiced Parsnip & Carrot Soup

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Sweet and nutty with a bit of a bite! Very nice.

ingredients:

• 1 TBS light olive oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 sticks celery, washed, trimmed and chopped
• 1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 TBS finely grated fresh ginger root
• 1/2 to 1 TBS curry powder (depending on your taste)
• pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 500g parsnips, peeled and chopped (a generous pound)
• 250g carrots, peeled and chopped (1/2 pound, generous)
• 1 litre of vegetable stock (abut 4 1/2 cups)
• Additional hot stock as needed

instructions:

How to cook Spiced Parsnip & Carrot Soup

1. Heat the oil in a large deep saucepan.  Add the chopped onion and celery, garlic, and grated ginger root.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, without allowing to brown.  Stir in the curry powder and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the chopped parsnips and carrots.  Stir to coat well in the aromatics.  Season lightly with salt and pepper. Pour in the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook over low heat for a further 30 to 35 minutes, or until very soft.  Remove from the heat and puree, using an immersion blender, until smooth.  Return to the stove and add additional stock as needed to give you the right consistency.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper and a pinch of cayenne if desired.  Serve immediately in heated bowls.  Alternately you can pour this soup into sealable freezer containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

Created using The Recipes Generator

 

No worries, I will do the lentil soup next week.  Up tomorrow is a Back to the 60's Prawn/Shrimp Cocktail.  They call large shrimps prawns over here in the UK!  Go figure!

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Spaghetti with Peppers, Olives & Tomatoes

 

This  is a beautiful supper dish with lovely fresh flavours and colours.  I love recipes like this.  Its simple, easy and uses things I normally have in my kitchen  . . .

 

Fresh bell peppers . . . I used golden yellow peppers.  I like to peel the skin from them as I am not overly fond of cooked pepper skins, which can oftimes be somewhat bitter.  They are not that hard to peel.  I have a soft skin vegetable peeler which makes it very easy. 

 

They are really great for peeling things like pepper and tomatoes. I like to pick peppers with straight sides for this dish.  They cut and peel much easier than overly rounded ones.

  

As well as the peppers there is a large red onion, cut into half moons. The peppers and onions are cooked in a skillet together, until the edges begin to caramelize, at which time you add  garlic and a bit of dry white wine. (I used water with a pinch of sugar as we don't do alcohol)  You let this bubble up while you scrape up any sticky bits in the skillet.

 

Next you add some chopped black olives and capers.  Black olives and capers go very well with all of the other ingredients . . . both are kind of salty and the capers are a bit tangy as well . . .

 

Of course your pasta is cooking while you are doing all of this right?  A scoop of the pasta water is added to the sauce along with some cherry tomatoes . . . and flat leaf parsley . . .

 

both of which are only briefly cooked . . .  so that when you are eating the finished dish those cherry tomatoes pop in your mouth with a beautiful burst of flavour!  Yum!

 

There is a temptation to use more parsley than you need to . . .  don't.  Trust me on this. None of the flavours in the dish should overpower any of the other flavours. Flat leaf parsley can sometimes be really strong in flavour, so taste it and then judge accordingly.

I only use whole wheat pasta these days.  I really like it.  It has a subtle nutty flavour and really doesn't look all that different than regular pasta.  But, if whole wheat pasta doesn't float your boat, then use regular pasta, no problemo.

 

Altogether this is a really delicious dish.  I would recommend serving it with some crusty bread if you aren't watching the carbs, and maybe some soft goats cheese on the side.  Yum yum!!

 

*Spaghetti with Peppers, Olives & Tomatoes*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe  

I like to peel the peppers for this recipe. It might seem a bit fiddly, but its worth it to not have unpleasant bits of pepper skins rolling around in your mouth. If you use flat sides peppers, this is easy to do with one of those new peelers which are built specifically for peeling soft skinned vegetables.  This really is delicious.  Vegetarian and Vegan. 

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

340g dry spaghetti (3/4 pound, I like whole wheat)

2 TBS olive oil

4 to 5 yellow peppers, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch strips

1 large red onion, peeled, halved and sliced into thin half moons

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

120ml dry white wine (1/2 cup)

85g of chopped black olives (1/2 cup)

(I like the dry cured ones)

3 TBS baby capers, rinsed and patted dry

15g flat leaf parsley, chopped (2/3 cup)

300g cherry tomatoes (2 cups)

 

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.  Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to the package directions.


Cook the sauce while the pasta is cooking. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet. Add the peppers and onions. Cook over high heat, tossing them with a wooden spoon to sear the edges, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the wine, allowing it to bubble up, scraping up any pan juices. Lower the heat to medium ad add the olives, capers, half of the parsley and a bit of water from the cooking pasta.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the cherry tomatoes and simmer for a minute, then turn off the heat and set aside. 


Drain the pasta, then toss with a bit of olive oil. Divide amongst 4 heated serving bowls.  Spoon some of the pepper mixture over heat.  Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve.

 

I am loving this new emphasis I am making  in my diet on plant based foods.  Todd's not so sure, lol, but you shouldn't be surprised.  He's a WW2 baby and he likes his meat.  Its okay, I made him a cottage pie which he enjoyed very much.  We were both happy.  Its okay, he knows I won't always be doing this for him. Bon Appetit! 

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