Honey Roasted Parsnip and Carrot Spiced Soup!

Honey Roasted Parsnip and Carrot Spiced Soup!

My husband loves roasted parsnips and carrots with any roast dinner. We were going to have them with last Sunday’s Sticky Chicken (recipe on http://www.alexisrealfoodwagon.com), but as we went out to have dinner we decided to have just potatoes and green beans. So I had a few parsnips and carrots leftover in the fridge which I thought might be nice in a spicy soup. Ted is sadly not the biggest fan of soup so he reluctantly ate as much as he could. Howard and I however, love it and we really enjoyed this recipe.

As we are coming to winter in the western hemisphere lots of root vegetables are now starting to grow. I love butternut squashes and pumpkins. Although, there is nothing more I like than roasted parsnips. Parsnips contain a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and nutrients, including dietary fibre, folate, potassium and vitamins. The main health benefits of including fresh vegetables like parsnips are that they can significantly reduce your risk of serious medical problems.

Parsnips belong to the same family as celery, parsley and carrots. They are normally in season between November and April. They resemble carrots in taste and texture. The combination of carrots and parsnips in this soup is delicious. The recipe also maximises the health benefits because the parsnips are roasted before they are left to simmer in the slow cooker or a saucepan. Now winter is drawing in, a soup is just what the doctor ordered.

Serves 4

Equipment needed

• Sharp Knife
• Chopping board
• Vegetable peeler
• Baking tray
• Slow cooker or large saucepan
• Jug
• Food processor or hand blender
• Teaspoon
• Tablespoon

Ingredients

• Parsnips x 8 medium
• Carrots x 4 medium
• Garlic x 4 cloves
• Honey x 1 tbsp
• Olive oil
• Chicken stock x 500mls
• Ground ginger x 1 tsp
• Gound cumin x 1 tsp
• Ground coriander x 1 tsp
• Herbs du provence x 1 tsp
• Milk x 300mls

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°C and add the baking tray to warm up.
• Peel and chop the parsnips and the carrots.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Remove the preheated baking tray from the oven and add the parsnips and carrot.
• Drizzle over the olive oil (as much as required) and the honey.
• Toss the vegetables in the tray until they are all well coated.
• Place in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes or until they are starting to brown.
• Remove from the oven and place in the slow cooker or saucepan.
• Add the chicken stock, ginger, cumin, coriander and herbs du provence and leave on a low heat for a few hours.
• If using a saucepan, add the chicken stock, ginger, cumin, coriander and herbs du provence and bring to the boil then leave to simmer for 30 minutes.
• When the time is up turn off or remove from the heat and leave to cool.
• Once it has cooled enough, put the chunky soup into the food processor and blend until smooth.
• Put it back on a low heat in the slow cooker or on a low heat on the hob and let it warm through again.
• Finally, add the milk and keep heating the soup through until ready to serve.
• If at any point the soup becomes too thick, just add some extra stock or water to thin the soup.

Honey Roasted Parsnip and Carrot Spiced Soup

We ate this soup last week on a cold and wet day. The boys had the soup with toasted sour dough bread and melted cheese. I had my soup with chickpea flour wraps (please see http://www.alexisrealfoodwagon.com) and it was delicious. Also, we have a few coughs and colds so again it was just what the doctor ordered. As winter is on its way I always like to have a warm meal planned in the evening. Soup is one of the easiest meals I can think to cook and most of my family enjoy it. However you decide to eat this recipe, as always please enjoy.