​- Serves 4 - Ready in 1 hour and 15 minutes -
Gather together…
2 tbsp olive oil / rapeseed oil.
1 onion, roughly chopped.
1 celery stick, roughly chopped.
8 medium/large parsnips (approx. 550g in total), scrubbed clean and thinly sliced into rounds (or 2 large parsnips and the rest of the weight made up with sliced carrots) - you can also add parsnip / carrot peelings, such as those which you've had stored in the freezer from past roast dinners.
1 tsp garam masala / medium curry powder.
1 tsp smoked paprika.
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon.
2 tsp vegetable bouillon powder (sieved).
1 litre boiling water.
Serve with...
Fresh bread (or panini defrosted from the freezer) / freshly baked cheese scones.
Slices of cheese.
Get cooking…
1. Heat the 2 tbsp of oil in a large saucepan on the hob.
2. Gently fry the chopped onion and the chopped stick of celery, for 5 minutes.
3. Add the sliced parsnips (including the very straggly tails which can be added in 5cm lengths) - and / or the peeled and chopped potatoes - and stir.
4. Fry gently on the hob for 20 minutes, with the LID ON.
5. Meanwhile you could begin to make the cheese scones (optional).
6. When the vegetables have almost finished their frying time, boil a kettle full of water.
7. To the vegetable pan, add the spices (1 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp smoked paprika and 1/2 tsp cinnamon). Stir.
8. Then sieve in the 2 tsp of vegetable bouillon powder and add the 1 litre of boiling water (make sure the water covers the vegetables - add extra boiling water if needed).
9. Simmer for 30 minutes with the LID OFF.
10. Meanwhile continue to make the cheese scones. The soup will happily sit and gently simmer for longer until the cheese scones are ready.
11. Once the simmering time is up, blitz the soup mixture carefully (avoid hot splashes!) with a handheld stick blender, add more boiling water (I add 1 - 2 cups extra at this stage) to get it to your desired soup consistency – remember the less water you add, the more flavoursome it is.
12. Serve the soup with fresh bread / freshly defrosted bread (or better still, freshly baked cheese scones) and slices of cheese. Yum!