#Parsnip soup

[dduane]

Of parsnips and parsnip soup

So the question of parsnips, and particularly parsnip soup, came up secondary to this quote from an interview with Terry Pratchett. (Thanks to @captainfantasticalright for the transcription.)

Terry: “You can usually bet, and I’m sure Neil Gaiman would say the same thing, that, uh, if I go into a bookstore to do a signing and someone presents me with three books, the chances are that one of them is going to be a very battered copy of Good Omens; and it will smell as if it’s been dropped in parsnip soup or something in and it’s gone fluffy and crinkly around the edges and they’ll admit that it’s the fourth copy they’ve bought”.

And when @petermorwood saw this, he immediately reblogged it and added four recipes for parsnip soup.

These kind of surprised some folks, as not everybody knew that parsnips were an actual thing: or if they were, what they looked like or were useful for.

The vegetable may well be better known on this side of the Atlantic. (And I have to confess that as a New Yorker and Manhattanite, with access to both great outdoor food markets and some of the best grocery stores in the world, I don't think that parsnips ever came up on my personal radar while I was living there.) So I thought I'd take a moment to lay out some basics for those who'd like to get to know the vegetable better.

The parsnip's Linnaean/botanical name is Pastinaca sativa, and in the culinary mode it's been around for a long time. It's native to Eurasia, and is a relative to parsley and carrots (with which it's frequently paired in the UK and Ireland). The Romans cultivated it, and it spread all over the place from there. Travelers who passed through our own neck of the woods before the introduction of the potato noted that "the Irish do feed much upon parsnips", and in the local diet it filled a lot of the niches that the potato now occupies.

You can do all kinds of things with parsnips. The Wikipedia article says, correctly, that they can be "baked, boiled, pureed, roasted, fried, grilled, or steamed". But probably the commonest food form in which parsnips turn up around here is steamed or simmered with carrots and then mashed with them: so that you can buy carrot-and-parsnip mash, ready-made, in most of our local grocery chains.

It also has to be mentioned that most Irish kids have had this stuff foisted on them at one point or another, and a lot of them hate it. (@petermorwood would be one.) I find it hard to blame anybody for this opinion, as one of the parsnip's great selling points—its spicy, almost peppery quality—gets almost completely wiped out by the carrot's more dominant flavor and sweetness.

Roasting parsnips, though, is another matter entirely. They roast really well. And parsnip soups are another story entirely, as it's possible to build a soup that will emphasize the parsnip's virtues.

So, to add to Peter's collection, here's one I made earlier—like yesterday afternoon, stopping the cooking sort of halfway and finishing it up today.

I was thinking in a vague medioregnic-food way about a soup with roasted bacon in it, but not with potatoes (as those have been disallowed from the Middle Kingdoms for reasons discussed elsewhere. Tl;dr: it's Sean Astin's fault). And finally I thought, "Okay, if we're going to roast some pork belly or back bacon, then why not save some energy and roast some parsnips too? The browned skins'll help keep them from going to mush in the soup."

So: first find your parsnips. I used four of them. You peel them with a potato peeler...

...sort of roughly quarter them, the long way...

...then chop them in half the short way, toss them in a bowl with some oil—olive oil, in this case—spread them on a baking sheet, and season them with pepper, coarse salt, and some chile flakes. (I used ancho and bird's-eye chile flakes here.)

These then went into the oven for about half an hour, and came out like this.

While that was going on, I got a block of ready-cooked Polish snack bacon out of the freezer.

On its home turf, this is the kind of thing that turns up (among other ways) sliced very thin on afternoon-snack plates, with cheeses and breads. But we like to score it and roast it to sweat some of the fat out, and then use it in soups and stews and so forth.

So I scored this chunk on most of its sides, browned it in a skillet, then shoved the skillet into the oven for twenty minutes or so. Here's the bacon after it was done.

While it was cooking, I made about a liter of soup stock from a couple of stock cubes. If you can get pork stock cubes, they'd be best for this, but beef works fine.

This then went into the pot and was brought up to just-boiling while the bacon and the parsnips were chopped into more or less bite-sized chunks. After that, the meat and veg were added to the pot and the whole business was left to simmer for a couple of hours while I went off to do some line editing.

Finally I turned it off and left it on the stove overnight (our kitchen is quite cool, it was in no bacteriological danger from being left out this way) and then finished its simmering time around lunchtime today.

And here it is. (...Or was. It was very nice.)

...Anyway, this is only one of potentially thousands of takes on parsnip soup. Recipes for more robust versions—based on mashed parsnips and more vegetables, or different meats—are all over the place.

Meanwhile, as regards how much damage this soup could do to your copy of Good Omens if you dropped yours in it, I'd rate this at about 5 damage points out of 10. ...Call it 5.5 if you factor in the chiles. Soups along the boiled-and-mashed-parsnip spectrum would probably inflict damage more in the 7.50-8.0 range. But your results may vary: so I'll leave you all to your own experimentation.

[petermorwood]

Parsnip soup - the garnish recommended by Terry Pratchett for adding character to a beloved copy of "Good Omens"...

...has appeared in a couple of posts, first here and then, when @dduane decided to make some, here.

She didn't use any of the recipes I'd posted but literally cooked up something slightly different off the cuff, and it is (trending rapidly to was) delicious!

Full info on DD's blog here. It's not so much a recipe as an illustrated step-by-step.

*****

NB, that post doesn't mention, because her IBS meant she didn't include, the chopped half onion and two minced cloves of garlic sautéed in smoked-roast-bacon fat which I added to my batch. It's just fine without them, but IMO is even better with, if non-dodgy digestion permits.

*****

Parsnips and carrots over here are, as her post says, all too often mashed, one of the great culinary non-delights of my childhood. They're frequently sold together for that purpose, either raw or pre-cooked...

...and it's a pleasure to find them specifically meant for roasting...

...though I can handle a peeler, a knife and a selection of seasonings well enough not to need to buy them like this.

The soup was sampled two ways, first in its basic form as roasted veggies and roasted smoked belly pork...

...cut into spoon-size pieces and simmered in a light but quite spicy broth (there was a fumble when shaking on the chillis!)

After that DD made flour-and-butter dumplings (Middle Kingdoms style) which absorbed some broth and made the soup a bit thicker.

Both, as I've already said, are - soon to be were - very good indeed.

10 / 10, will make again.

[askwhatsforlunch]

Goat's Cheese Parsnip Soup (Vegetarian)

The days are getting chillier and chillier, and a lot wetter, too! Digging up the last of the Kitchen Garden's harvest under the rain deserves a reward! Luckily, this is just what this creamy, warming and tasty Goat's Cheese Parsnip Soup is!

Ingredients (serves 1):

180 grams/6 ounces Parsnips

a small garlic clove, peeled

1/2 vanilla bean

½ teaspoon coarse sea salt

2 cups water

1 cup whole goat's milk

30 grams/1 ounce good soft goat's cheese

freshly cracked black pepper

If you have just dug out your Parsnips from your Kitchen Garden, thoroughly scrub and rinse them under cold water. But you don’t need to peel them. Cut Parsnips into thick slices and place them into a medium saucepan.

Add garlic clove and vanilla bean halve to the saucepan. Add coarse sea salt and cover with water. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium, cover with a lid, and simmer, 20 minutes, until Parsnips are tender.

Remove from the heat.

Using a hand-held blender, process, gradually adding remaining goat's milk until smooth. Add goat's cheese, and process once more.

Return saucepan over medium-heat until the soup is well-warmed.

Serve Goat's Cheese Parsnip Soup hot, with a sprinkle of black pepper.

[ladyinrainbowglasses]

Roasted Veggie Soup

Ingredients: 2-3 quarts vegetable broth 1 and 1/2 large yellow onions, chopped roughly 3 pounds gold potatoes, chopped but not peeled 3 pounds parnsips, peeled and chopped 1/2 pound carrots, peeled and chopped 2 heads of roasted garlic 1/2 head of raw garlic 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons olive oil Fresh rosemary (2-3 sprigs) 2 tsp marjoram Truffle salt and fresh cracked pepper Put the vegetables, excluding the pre-roasted garlic, in a roasting dish. Drizzle with the olive oil, add seasonings, and toss to coat. Roast the vegetables together in a 400 F oven for 40 minutes, taking out to stir midway through. Add 1 head of the roasted garlic to the vegetable broth in a large pot or Dutch oven. Crush slightly to release more flavor and cook on low heat for five minutes before adding the entire pan of roasted vegetables.  Cook on low heat for 40 minutes, though longer will not hurt the flavor.  Add heavy cream and the second head of roasted garlic, then blend together. The soup may require more liquid at this stage, depending on how thick you prefer your soups. Adjust seasonings to taste and consider topping with croutons or fried sage leaves.

[kaidavis]

Soup - Roasted Apple and Parsnip Soup Chef John's recipe for roasted apple and parsnip soup makes for a delicious and comforting winter meal.

[rkwehtoe]

Soups, Stews and Chili - Spiced Parsnip Soup Recipe

Delicious, straightforward soup that isn't overly hot is a great winter appetizer for a dinner party. The sweetness of the parsnips and the spice complement each other beautifully. Serve with butter and crusty white bread.

[mikestudies]

Creamy Roasted Parsnip Soup Recipe Wintry spices make this a rich, creamy, and flavorful holiday favorite!

[hurrlurrimsami]

Spiced Parsnip Soup Delicious, straightforward soup that isn't overly hot is a great winter appetizer for a dinner party. The sweetness of the parsnips and the spice complement each other beautifully. Serve with butter and crusty white bread.

[dariusbaires]

Butternut Squash and Parsnip Soup This soup, perfect for autumnal weather, combines the flavors of the fall harvest with roasted parsnips and butternut squash.

[homestarlegacy]

The first Homestar talkie

[eyra]

the oldest recipe for parsnip soup - eyra - Harry Potter [Archive of Our Own]

Chapters: 3/9 Fandom: Harry Potter Rating: Mature Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin Additional Tags: Marauders Era, Non-Magical, Christmas, Winter, Cooking, Food, Fluff, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Autistic Sirius Black (+ please check ao3 tags before reading) There's something blazingly incongruous about Remus in the wintertime. He's golden: sunshine and honeybees, caramel curls and freckles like dappled sunlight. Even his clothes seem borrowed, and temporary, as if he might've just thrown on an extra layer for a moment in the knowledge that his own innate aestival nature would be quite enough to stave off the worst of the chill. Something at home in long balmy nights, and mornings when the gardens teem with life and song. Wonderfully out of place in the winter: a happy visitor to the season, an ember in the frost. Christmastime in the Cotswolds: cold hands, crackling fires, and Remus's indefatigable quest for parsnips.

As is tradition, a festive treat for December. If you liked A Brief History of Dragons, this one's for you, and for anyone who has been following me on tumblr for a little while you'll understand why writing this was so important and cathartic and special for me, in lots of ways. A full circle moment.

I hope you love this as much as I do, and I hope you have a wonderful winter. x

[morethansalad]

Authentic Hungarian Mushroom Soup (Vegan)

[allium-girl]

Roasted Garlic Parsnip Soup with Brown Butter Walnuts & Dates

[askwhatsforlunch]

The Thanksgiving Table

Although I am not American and only adoptive Canadian, I do love celebrating Thanksgiving, where the bounty of harvest season meets hearty, generous food, shared amongst family and friends. A holiday for my love language, one could say! Here are a few of my favourite Thanksgiving recipes. Whether or not you’re American or Canadian; and whoever you are celebrating with, Happy Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving!

Drinks

Cranberry Smash (Alcoholic)

Apple, Pear and Ginger Sparkler (Alcohol-Free)

Appetiziers

Goat Cheese and Orange Little Tarts

Potato Nests with Sour Cream and Smoked Trout

Entrées

Vanilla and Garlic Cream of Parsnips

Cream of Parsnips with Smoked Oysters

Breads

Cinnamon Dinner Rolls

Cheddar Dinner Rolls

Cheddar and Ale Soda Bread

Turkey

Bacon Turkey Roast with Garden Herb Bacon, Chestnut and Apple Stuffing

Rosemary Cider Turkey

Gravy and Cranberry Sauce

Maple Poultry Gravy

Spirited Cranberry-Apricot Sauce

Stuffing

Sage, Onion and Chestnut Stuffing 

Sausage and Apple Cornbread Stuffing

Sides

Sweet Potato Casserole with Hazelnut Streusel

Honey Roasted Pumpkin

Roasted Root Vegetables

Vanilla Whipped Parsnips

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Pecans

Desserts

Maple Peanut Butter Cream Pie

Maple Pecan Butter Tart

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Leftovers

Cheddar and Turkey Hot Sandwich

Turkey, Bacon and Blue Cheese Salad

Cranberry and Goast’s Cheese Tartlets 

Cranberry French Toast

[certifiedceliac]

Roasted Garlic Parsnip Soup with Brown Butter Walnuts & Dates (via The Original Dish)

[bumblebee-cottage]

Roasted Carrot Soup w/ Parsnips, Apples + Gingery Toasted Pepitas – Happy Hearted Kitchen