Roasted Parsnip and Carrot Soup

11/30/2017

A velvety rich soup with hearty vegetables and aromatic turmeric for flavour. If you are looking for a new easy soup to add to your winter collection, give this one a try. Could be a great way to head into December!

The clock is about to strike midnight and turn into sleigh bells, mistletoe, dancing elves, eggnog (ummm, or Bailey's in my house) and all things Christmas. Otherwise know as December! The rush is on folks. Time to get a move on because Christmas really is just around the corner now!

Let's talk advent calenders. Okay, so who does them? And do you do them just for kids? Or for big kids, pets and so on? Well, in our house we do advent calenders. Mind you not for a the pets because that would be a stretch jut a bit too far with five of the four legged critters running around. Plus, it might just be plain weird. Thankfully I don't have five kids because I would probably make them take turns on days in the advent calender.

My advent calender life used to be so simple. I would head into the supermarket a few days before the 1st of December and pick up a basic advent calender with pop out cardboard windows holding in the barely visible chocolate disk. They usually tasted terrible but the kids loved them and I was happy because it was easy. I like easy.

Then something changed. The husband was away in the great land of Austria about this time in 2012. Clearly at the last minute before heading home he realised he had to pick up the kids a present. They were much smaller then and expected, but appreciated, small gestures of kindness. AKA presents. So, he saw these wonderful Asturian style advent calenders and decided that was the present they were getting. Great.

Their eyes lit up like Christmas lights when they opened their presents. I can still remember their expressions as they looked at all the individual little pockets to hold the special treats for each day. Wait, am I supposed to fill each day with a treat? Why yes, that was the plan. Well, I found myself with a bit of time and decided it would be a neat idea to not only fill all the little pockets, but to wrap each treat individually. Twenty-four little pockets times two advent calenders equals frustration on my part. Anyway, I did it and on the 1st of December they were even more thrilled to find that all the pockets were filled with a little present for each day. Well, a chocolate present at least.

After that year passed and we moved on to the following Christmas, I completely forgot about those advent calenders. Then sometime before December hit, I was reminded by my then 7 year old that he couldn't wait to see what treats were in the advent calender. Oh, so I was meant to do it again, and again and again.

Guess what? I just finished filling them and they are in the kitchen waiting till morning.

Now onto the soup.

I absolutely love parsnips. That is another food you can't buy around here. The basic ethos of this place is if it doesn't grow here, they don't sell it here. That isn't a bad model to live by really. Okay, yes there is imported produce, but not much. And who can blame them with this climate for growing. Okay, back to the soup. If you are wondering where I got the parsnips, Gibraltar. You see it is a mere 1 1/2 hours away and stocks all the things that are available in England but not to us Spanish folks. A little bizarre when you think about it. Anyway, a short story short, I went with a friend and one of my purchases was parsnips. Which are now all gone.

Okay the soup!

This was a beautiful rich soup that just tasted like it was good for you. I love when I make something and it turns out so delicious and I know it's healthy. Not always that case, but this time around I struck gold.

I made this soup earlier in the week and just finished it off today for lunch. Easy to make, low on ingredients and budget friendly. Not bad.

The soup itself it pretty self explanatory. Again, like most things I make, I do several things at once. As soon as the vegetables are put in the oven to roast, get on with your onions and herbs to develop flavour for the soup. This is a huge time saver. Then when the vegetables have roasted, you just put them in the pot with the stock and let it go from there.

I found this soup the perfect texture and consistency. If you find it too thick, add a little more stock. I say to add pepper and salt to your own taste buds because we are all different.

Okay, time to get to bed and wait for the the countdown to Christmas!

Roasted Parsnip and Carrot Soup

Serves 4 -6 / Prep time: 15 minutes / Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 lb/500 grams carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthways
1 lb/500 grams parsnips, peeled and cut in half lengthways
1 Onion, diced
1 1/2 Litres vegetable stock
2 Bay leaves
1 Teaspoon ground turmeric
1 Teaspoon dried sage
2 Tablespoons garlic, crushed
4 Tablespoons olive oil
Small bunch of fresh chopped coriander
Salt
Pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put the carrots and parsnips on a large baking tray. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and a little salt. Give a good stir to coat and roast between 40-50 minutes. The vegetables should be soft and slightly charred on the outside. Remove from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large stainless steel pot set over high heat add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add garlic and stir for about a minute. Toss in the onion and give a good stir. Cook the onion on high for 2 to 3 minutes until it starts to brown. Add about 1/4 cup (60 ml) of stock, the bay leaves, ground turmeric and dried sage. Stir really well and leave to cook for about another 15 minutes until the onions have completely caramelized. Add more stock if needed along the way.

Turn heat back up to high and add remaining stock and vegetables. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium low heat. Leave to simmer for about 5 minutes.

Transfer soup to a blender and blend until smooth. You may need to do this in batches. Return soup to pot set over low heat and bring back to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Top with fresh coriander and serve.

Click the downloadable link below to print recipe!