Rob Thomas ~ Mockingbird
Bowes & Morley ~ Change
The Rolling Stones ~ Let's Spend The Night Together
The Eagles ~ Life In The Fast Lane
Tina Dico ~ Back Where We Started
Nickelback ~ Where Do I Hide
10cc ~ I'm Not In Love
KORN ~ Burn The Obedient
Train ~ This'll Be My Year
Shania Twain ~ Nah!
VAST ~ Thrown Away
Deap Vally ~ Gonna Make My Own Money
Shakira ~ Estoy Aqui
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band ~ Cryin' Shame
Today was family day and what a fantastic day it was. Just being surrounded by ML, my sister and her little ones fills my heart with joy. I look forward to Saturdays for this very reason. We were also joined by our kid brother late in the afternoon so that was also a nice addition.
The temperature has dropped here over this last week and has been the cause of many shivery moments. It's very hard to keep this mausoleum warm so when the family arrive they have to adjust to the climate. Once they are tearing around playing and I'm in the kitchen cooking lunch with my sister to keep me company it's ok but the chill time after lunch can get...well...damn well chilly! lol. So I set aside the planned salads for lunch and decided to make a huge pot of soup. And I knew exactly the vegetable of choice...good old faithful parsnips. I had bought two large bags of the creamy blighters during a recent supermarket visit. I had also roasted them off in the oven yesterday whilst making salads so they were sat waiting for me in the fridge. It was pretty simple to put together after that...as a soup recipe had been floating around my creative mind for months. And for the first time ever I made some home made crisps with a leftover large parsnip.
The results were a deliciously creamy, comforting and slightly spiced soup and with the addition of my freshly made parsnip crisp croutons it made the soup something really special. And my harshest critics loved it...in fact Noo asked if we can have that super soup every week for lunch. Praise indeed...lol And the parsnip crisps were a big hit with ML (who really shouldn't eat them but couldn't resist), my sister and the littlest one L who munched and dunked them in her soup with glee. But all thought the combination was great. I love it when a recipe works..lol
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| Rocket & Roses Roasted Parsnip and Cumin Soup with Parsnip Crisps |
Rocket & Roses Roasted Parsnip and Cumin Soup with Parsnip Crisps Serves 6
(Original recipe from the Rocket & Roses Vegan Kitchen)
1 lb 13oz parsnips, peeled and cut into med chunks
2 tbsp canola/rapeseed oil
Heat the oven to 200'c/400'f/GM 6. In a large bowl toss the parsnips in the oil and then pour them into a large roasting tin and roast in the oven for 40 minutes. They should be honey brown and soft not deep brown and crispy. If they start to burn on the edges before they have finished roasting, simply cover with tin foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Leave to cool, and use straight away in the soup or store in a sealed container in the fridge until needed.
2 large onions, roughly chopped
1 tbsp of garlic infused oil
1/2 heaped tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1lb 13 oz roasted parsnips
1 14 oz can of haricot beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 litres of low sodium veggie stock
1/2 litre water
low sodium salt to taste (I used 1/4 tsp)
small amount of freshly cracked black pepper
In a large soup pan, gently heat the garlic oil and then add the onions, stir well to combine and then cover. Stir occasionally to ensure there is no sticking. When the onions have softened add the spices and stir well to coat the onions and for the spices to heat through. Add the parsnips and stir well, once coated add in the beans, stir once more to coat and then leave to cook for 2 minutes. Then add the veggie stock, water, salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil over a med-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and leave to cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and using a hand blender, blitz until creamy and smooth.
1 large parsnip, peeled and then using the peeler slice until you have a good pile
of thin parsnip strips
2 cups of sunflower oil
In a pan heat the sunflower oil until just smoking. Test this point by dropping in a tiny piece of parsnip..if it sizzles..it's ready. Then taking a small amount drop them into the hot oil and when they reach a bronze colour, remove them with a metal drainer and then leave them on kitchen towel to drain whilst you repeat until they are all cooked.
Once cooked and drained well...take a small pinch of reduced sodium salt and sprinkle it over the crisps.
To assemble:
Spoon hot soup into servings bowls and scatter crisps over the soup or serve them on the side. Serve...
NB: Obviously you could roast the parsnips without the oil, oven roast the crisps with a minimal amount of oil and steam saute the onions in the soup...but today was special treat. But this recipe will work using the other methods too. Just saying folks...~R~
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your Saturday has been as good as mine...
~Red~
