Make a super creamy parsnip soup vegan with sweet potatoes, white wine and coconut milk. Gluten-free too!
I need soup in my life right now.
All day every day.
It is cold, it is winter time. It is soup overload time. Today I already had two bowls of soup. A sad first showing of miso soup from a packet poured into a hotel room disposable cup and filled with coffee maker heated up water. That didn’t quite hit the spot.
Then at dinner in Los Alamos, New Mexico (which is where the atomic bomb was invented – how’s that for a bit of trivia for ya) I had a bowl of vegetarian lentil soup.
That was a bit better than the miso, but it was made with brown lentils, and I am so much more a fan of the adorable red lentils (which pair awesomely with apples for a divine soup).
What I really wishI had, though, was a hot steaming bowl of creamy parsnip soup.
I know, parsnips are not the first ingredient you think of when it comes to a creamy soup, but you’ve got to give this delicious root vegetable a chance. I feel like parsnips are a highly underrated vegetable that you don’t see as the star of a dish too often. I mostly only see parsnip sprinkled around a bag of root vegetable chips. And that’s not ok, because parsnip is a star vegetable and needs to be embraced on it’s own! It does not need to be the backup act all the time.
I make roasted veggies all the time with butternut squash, sweet potatoes and parsnips, and seem to find myself gravitating to eating mostly the parsnips out of the bunch. There’s just something earthy and comforting about parsnips. They might currently be my favorite veggies.
So why not let those white carrot looking veggies shine on their own as the star of a hot creamy parnsip soup? Are ya with me?
This soup does require a bit of prep work since you first have to dice up the parsnips and sweet potatoes and then roast them, but trust me every bit of effort is worth it for this ever so slightly sweet, fragrant and spicy soup. If you have a kitchen assistant (boyfriend, fiance?) have them help you out here to make this process move along faster.
Once the veggies are roasted the soup making begins with a bit of onions sauteeing then deglazing to be followed up with a pour of broth and coconut milk. Then add in those fragrant veggies mix, and puree. Your creamy parnsip soup is almost ready!
The additional rosemary and crushed red pepper flakes make the soup flavors really pop and the parsnips are ever so slightly sweet and smooth.
Serve the creamy parnsip soup drizzled with a bit of high quality olive oil for a finishing touch!
Let me know what you think of this soup recipe in the comments below.
As for me, here are the common sense lessons learned:
Once this does happen, you can tone down the sweetness by adding spices like cumin, nutmeg or lemon juice. Deviate from the recipe to reduce sweetness. Instead of adding 4 parsnip to the recipe, reduce the number of parsnip by half.
It makes it a popular vegetable to use in lieu of potatoes or carrots. Parsnips gives you 11% of your daily recommended intake for vitamin C, folate, and manganese. It is also a good source of potassium, providing 8% of your daily recommended intake.
Parsnips are a starchy veg where the starch turns sweeter once frozen. So the best thing to do is to freeze it, and come back to it another day. Cumin, coriander and mustard seeds will help. I've added in all of that.
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan, then add the carrots and parsnips and toss to coat in the oil. Add the thyme, cinnamon, star anise and some seasoning. Cook over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes, turning the vegetables frequently, until golden brown and almost cooked through.
If you don't peel them, you'll likely be adding a bitter taste to the soup. Why is my parsnip soup bitter? If you leave the peels on the parsnip, it can cause your soup to taste bitter. Ensure you rinse the parsnips well and prep them before adding them to this recipe.
Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.
A squeeze of citrus, a dollop of yogurt or a drizzle of cream, a dusting of cheese or a good chile powder, a sprinkling of some herbs or croutons — all can take a perfectly fine soup into the realm of the delectable. Even a spiral of good olive oil to finish and some coarse sea salt can do wonders.
In some cases, people consuming parsnip for the first time may also experience allergic conditions like dermatitis, bloating, gas, stomach cramps, and food allergy symptoms like burning, itching, and swelling of lips and tongue, redness in the eyes, and breathing difficulty.
One of wild parsnip's "signature" effects is a dark red or brownish discoloration of the skin in the area where the burn occurred. This hyper-pigmentation can persist in the skin for as long as two years. Parsnip burns often appear as streaks and long spots.
To cut up parsnips, start by peeling away the tough skin and discarding the top and bottom ends. Then feel free to slice them into matchsticks with julienne cuts, cut them into disks on the bias, or core them and divide the more tender parts into small chunks. Bon appétit!
However, if parsnips have been allowed to grow too big or remain too long in storage, they tend to get woodier and bitter. Thus, it is recommended that larger parsnips be peeled and that the “woody” core in the middle be cut out before preparing.
Parsnips are a starchy root vegetable and running them through the food processor too long or at too high of a speed can cause the starches to congeal. I recommend pulsing the parsnips with additional coconut milk or water to prevent an undesirable gummy texture.
Scrub the parsnips, then blanch whole in a large pan of boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then drain and steam dry. Tip into a large roasting tray, dot over the butter and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, toss to coat and arrange in a single layer, then roast for 1 hour.
To prepare: Very small parsnips don't need peeling, just wash them and top and tail. Medium to large parsnips should be peeled and chopped into even-sized chunks, halves or quarters. To cook: Cook in boiling salted water for 15-20 minutes until tender.
Flavor the base: We add Italian seasoning and tomato paste to the aromatics and warm them up to bring the seasonings back to life. You could use fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary, or even add a Parmesan rind for more flavor.
Introduction: My name is Wyatt Volkman LLD, I am a handsome, rich, comfortable, lively, zealous, graceful, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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