Double spiced parsnip soup

Serendipity is a beautiful word, meaning a “happy accident”. I had one such happy accident just the other day. We were due to be making a recipe which required a parsnip. I made a mental note to buy some on my way home from work, and felt super-efficient when I actually remembered and bought them. Unbeknownst to me, my other half, the inimitable Him Indoors, had the exact same idea. We now had two bags of supermarket parsnips when we only needed a single one for our supper!

The world works in strange and random ways, it turns out that my friend Adey, who has written a guest post here in the past, had very recently tweeted about making a spicy parsnip soup. What were we going to do with our 7 surplus-to-requirements parsnips? Make a beautiful soup! (You will find Adey's brilliant recipe post here: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2019/02/adeys-lamb-with-parmesan-champ-and.html)

So, this soup is a soup of serendipity. I have tried to use the Indian technique of cooking with whole spices first, before using ground spices. I have used Bengali Panch Phoran, which is a mix of Nigella seeds (khalo jeera), Fenugreek seeds, Cumin seeds (jeera), Fennel seeds (saunf) and Black mustard seeds. It is the same spice mix as I use for making the tarka for my dahl (the fried onion, garlic and spice mix I throw into my cooked dahl just before serving, as explained here: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-make-dahl.html). The ground spice is Garam Masala, I used Fudco brand, rather than make my own this time. TRS and Rajah are also good brands to buy. You can find out how easy it is to make your own Panch Phoran here: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-make-your-own-panch-phoran.html

 

To compliment the spice, I am also using ginger and garlic. I have used crème fraiche as the dairy based thickener for the soup, but you could use double cream for texture and indulgence.

Double spiced parsnip soup

(Serves 4)

Ingredients: 

7 parsnips, peeled then diced

4 banana shallots, peeled then diced

A 1.5 to 2" piece of ginger, peeled then very finely diced

4 cloves of garlic, peeled then very finely diced

1.5 teaspoons Panch Phoran

A 2" piece of cinnamon

2 teaspoons garam masala

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 litre of stock (vegetable or chicken, as you prefer)

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon butter or ghee

2 tablespoons cold pressed rapeseed oil (or ground nut oil, you want a neutral oil)

4 tablespoons crème fraiche (or double cream)

You will need:

A large saucepan, a blender or stick blender

Method: 

1. In the large saucepan, melt the butter in the oil on a low heat. Mix thoroughly. 

2. Now raise the heat, and add the shallot. Fry the shallot for 5 minutes on a medium heat, but without browning it.

3. Add the panch phoran and cinnamon, fry for 1-2 minutes (until you can smell the spices).

4. Now throw in the diced garlic and ginger, fry for another 5 minutes, lowering the heat if needed to prevent the ginger and garlic burning. If they burn, it will ruin the flavour of the soup. 

5. Time to add the diced parsnip, stir thoroughly to combine. 

6. Fry for 10 minutes on a medium heat, moving the ingredients around to prevent burning and sticking.

7. Add the garam masala, brown sugar some ground black pepper and stir for 1 minute. You should be able to smell this new spice blend as a result.

8. Pour in the stock, make sure all the garam masala is mixed up, because you do not want clumps. Put on a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until the parsnips are soft. 

9. Blend using a blender or stick blender.

10. Stir through the crème fraiche, warming through if necessary.

NOTE: If you have made a large quantity to have more than once, don't add the crème fraiche now. Add it after you warm it up, immediately before serving. 
 

11. Serve and enjoy immediately.