Parsnip, Cumin & Chilli Soup
I used to make curried parsnip soup but we had it so many times we were sick of it. A couple of bags of reduced-to-clear parsnips in the supermarket at 5p a bag were too cheap to resist and the result was a tasty soup, even more so when topped with some sour cream and crispy fried bits of chorizo
Stats
Makes: 2 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 120g white onions
- 1 small red chilli (or 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes)
- 450g parsnips
- 10g olive oil
- 500ml hot chicken stock
- 1 tbsp cumin
- Optional: 2 tbsp sour cream
- Optional: 50g chorizo
Method
- Peel and finely chop the onion
- Heat the olive oil over a low heat in a saucepan that will accomodate all the vegetables and stock
- Add the onion and a sprinkle of salt to the pan and cook until softened, but not browned
- Peel and chop the parsnips into smallish pieces before adding them to the pan
- Slice the chilli and add to the pan and cook until the parsnips have started to soften
- Add the cumin to the pan, turn the heat up slightly and stir round for 30 seconds until aromatic
- Add the stock to the pan and simmer for 15 minutes or until the parsnips are tender
- Blend until smooth before checking for seasoning and serving
If you want to add the optional sour cream and chorizo, chop the chorizo into small pieces and add to a frying pan over a medium heat when there's about 5 minutes of the cooking time left for the soup. Cook the chorizo pieces, stirring regularly. When the chorizo pieces are cooked and starting to get crispy take the pan off the heat and reserve. Add a tablespoon of sour cream to each bowl of soup before serving along with half the cooked chorizo pieces and the oil that's come from them as they cooked.
To make the soup vegetarian/vegan, skip the optional ingredients and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.