Soup of the Day – Roasted Parsnip and Carrot Soup

I came across this soup whilst out at lunch with friends one autumn Saturday afternoon.  We sat in an idyllic country pub, with a thatched roof and roaring fire.  Can you see the picture?  Then came the eek moment! On looking at the menu, every option came with roasted carrot and parsnip soup :0 

I wasn’t really sure about it at first, as I’m not a fan of sweet soups, and I thought this would be one.  To my surprise, it want’s very sweet at all, so that go me thinking, have I been excluding a whole veg group all these years from my soup repitoir?

Luckily, the chef was a friend of one of our ladies and he was happy to share the recipe.  Now, you’ll not actually believe how simple this is, really!  Just chop the veg and roast it.  I hear you say that there is no way, but ‘yes’ way! Lol. Ok, well there is some seasoning too.

This base recipe is flexible (as are most of my recipes 😉  Even i have tinkered with the recipe as I was given it.  Depending on the sweetness of the veg, it can become a bit too sweet if your not that way inclined.  Simple remedy is to add cannalini beans which have very little taste, and will reduce the sweetness, will bulk up the soup and add protein if you are vegetarian. 

So, lets get on with it!

Serves 4

Per portion:

185 kcal | 4.5g Fat | 0.6g Sat Fat | 35.9g Carb

Ingredients 

• 600g Carrots
• 300g Parsnips
• 3 small red onions 
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 pint veg stock
• 2 pints water

Method

1. Heat you oven to 180C/350F
2. Peel and chop the carrots, parsnip and onion into chunks, spread on you baking trays, sprey with oil.
3. Sprinkle the cumin and coriander over the veg and cook in the oven, middle shelf for about 30-40 minutes.  You want them nicely browned, but keep a check that they don’t burn or they may taste bitter.
4. Once roasted, add all the veg to a blender and slowly add the stock as you blend it.
5. Once it has reached the purée stage, you can either split it into 4 and freeze it for a later date (just defrost and add boiling water) or continue to add boiling water until you get the consistency you want.
6. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary.  

Serve with some nice freshly bakes bread or freeze for a later date.  This is a great work day lunch!

Thanks for reading. 

Buon appitito!

A x