Ingredients
Serves 4-6
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ small chilli, seeded and sliced
650 gr parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 litre vegetable stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
250 ml cream (use extra stock or evaporated skim milk if you'd rather leave the cream out)
For Parsnip Chips
4 parsnips, peeled
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Method
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion softens, about 2 minutes. Stir in turmeric, cumin, ginger and chilli, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add parsnips and apples and stir well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce heat, cover and simmer until parsnips are soft, 30-40 minutes.
Remove soup from heat and puree using a stick blender until smooth. Return soup to the heat until hot enough. Stir in cream just before serving. Ladle into serving bowls and top with parsnip chips.
To make parsnip chips:
Thinly slice each parsnip lengthwise with a vegetable peeler.
Heat oil in a large, deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan or deep-fat fryer until it reaches 190°C on a deep-frying thermometer or until a small cube of bread dropped into oil sizzles and turns golden.
Working in handfuls, add parsnip slices to hot oil and deep-fry until golden, about 1 minute.
Using a slotted spoon, remove chips from oil and drain on paper towels.
Notes from Arianne:
Parsnips are a classic winter vegetable and are more commonly used as a baked accompaniment to roast meats or as an aromatic in stews or casseroles. They are high in starch which means they can be used as a thickener in wet dishes.
They are becoming popular now as an alternative to potato mash. The opposite is true in Europe, the parsnip became less popular as the potato became more readily available.
They are related to carrots, fennel, parsley and celeriac. As parsnips mature their starch converts to sugar, resulting in the sweet, pungent flavour as we know it.
Although they are available all year round now, the flavour develops best in cold weather, which is roast weather! Hence the connection between the two.
Other uses:
Parsnip Au Gratin, Parsnip Mash, Parsnip Croquettes and Parsnip Tart.