Give parsnips a chance with this creamy, warming soup
Raise your hand if you’ve cooked with parsnips recently.
I thought so. Me neither. There’s that certain group of vegetables I routinely walk by when I am cruising the produce aisle — parsnips, fennel, beets, bok choy among them. I like them when other people cook them, and yet they seem a little exotic to me.
Well, I am here to say give parsnips a chance.
This Creamy Roasted Parsnip Soup plays off the spicy, almost licorice-like, taste of the parsnips. The addition of a few carrots adds a touch more sweetness, while warming spices including ginger, cardamom, nutmeg and allspice give it a nice kick. Play around with the spicing and feel free to skip or reduce any you don’t like. Just remember, ginger always sounds harmless but can really add heat to a recipe, so go easy.
When buying parsnips, look for smaller pieces, as larger ones tend to be a bit woody. When preparing these root vegetables, treat them as you would carrots. Cut off the tops and bottoms and give them a light peel or a good scrub.
You can top off this creamy, spicy soup any number of ways. Croutons are always a good choice, but you might want to try spiced nuts for a little crunch. I went with a Mushroom Shallot Confit, which involved slow roasting the mushrooms for two hours, an obvious labor of love. This process of cooking the mushrooms in oil at a low heat ensures they are tender and flavorful.
You can also store leftovers in the fridge for up to a month. Use them in an omelet, atop pasta or served on crostini for an appetizer. They added a nice bit of texture to this soup and complemented the spicy sweetness of the parsnips.
Of course, now that we’ve added parsnips to our cooking rotation, who knows? Maybe fennel won’t be far behind.
• M. Eileen Brown is a retired journalist and media executive, and an incurable soup-a-holic.
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Creamy Roasted Parsnip Soup with Mushroom Confit
2 pounds parsnips, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
3 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 large onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups stock, vegetable or chicken
1 cup whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place parsnips and carrots in a mixing bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Spread vegetables evenly onto a baking sheet. Roast in the preheated oven until vegetables are tender and parsnips are golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir onion and celery in hot oil until softened and onion is beginning to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to low; stir in butter, brown sugar, garlic, and roasted parsnips and carrots. Continue to cook and stir until vegetables are very soft and starting to brown, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Season with ginger, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper; stir for 1 minute. Pour in broth; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes.
Working in batches, pour soup into a blender and puree. Pour blended soup into a clean pot. Stir in milk and cream. Return to a simmer over medium-low heat. Season with salt and pepper to serve.
Serves 4-6
— Adapted from Allrecipes.com
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Mushroom Shallot Confit
8 ounces assorted wild mushrooms, cleaned
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, stems discarded
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 shallot, quartered
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Kosher salt, to taste
Preheat the oven to 250°F. Halve and quarter mushrooms as necessary to make them relatively equal in size.
Combine the olive oil, garlic, thyme, oregano, brown sugar, shallot, peppercorns, vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a glass measuring cup and whisk to incorporate. Arrange the mushrooms in a single layer in a baking dish or on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the oil mixture over the mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper. Gently combine the ingredients.
Roast the confit in the oven until it becomes soft and very tender, but still plump, for about 2 hours.
Remove the confit from the oven and let it cool to room temperature. Pack it into jars or storage containers of your choice, along with any leftover liquid or oil.
— From Masterclass.com