Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup

Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup is warming in both senses of the word. A steaming bowlful is just what’s needed on chilly days, plus its spice will bring a warming tingle to your taste buds!

Roasting the parsnips first, with a generous amount of my special spice blend, adds depth of flavour to the soup.

Simmered in stock or water with garlic, ginger, chillies, plus more of the spice mix, the roasted parsnips take on even greater flavour. I like to add creaminess to the plant-based soup with thick coconut milk, then whizz it until smooth and velvety. But you can just add more stock or water if you prefer.

To make this easy Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup extra special, I top each bowl with crispy shards of roasted parsnip. Try it with crunchy, lightly spiced croutons and a swirl of coconut milk too.

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I must confess I’m a relatively new fan of parsnips. Previously, I’d thought of them as an inferior alternative to potatoes.

I guess that came from the homemade stews I’d eat as a child. Visually, I couldn’t tell the difference between the chunks of potato (familiar, comforting) and parsnip (bitter, nasty). Consequently, eating the stew was a bit like Russian roulette.

Thankfully though, tastes change. Not only do I now quite like the slight bitterness, but I also know that roasting transforms the humble parsnip.

So, receiving in a recent Moorland Veg Box the impressive, organic and muddy specimens you see above, I decided to create Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup along with some tasty garnishes.

SPICY ROASTED PARSNIP SOUP

Looking back, it seemed like over the Christmas and New Year holidays I lived largely on pork and cheese products.

So, lovely as Rough Puff  Pastry Sausage Rolls, Cheese, Smoky Bacon & Spring Onion Scones, Flaky Cheese Crackers and the like were, I decided to make an entirely plant-based Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup.

For roasting the parsnips, making the soup base and for cooking the garnishes I used coconut oil.

I think its flavour goes well with spices, but you can substitute any other oil. For a vegetarian rather than plant-based soup, try ghee or equal parts butter and oil.

For the spices, as well as whole cumin seed and black mustard seeds, I made a bespoke Spice Mix.

If you have a favourite ready-made curry powder, then you could use that. But I hope you’ll try mine!

In my Spice Mix there’s:

• garam masala (itself a spice mix)
• ground coriander
• turmeric
• ground fenugreek
• chilli powder or flakes, as hot or as mild as you like

In addition, there’s fresh aromatics: onions, ginger, garlic and chillies.

Ready to cook? Go to the recipe card at the end of the post: Jump to Recipe

Want tips and step by step pics? Read on.

ROASTING THE PARSNIPS & MAKING THE GARNISHES

Because it’s the browning and charring that adds flavour during roasting, I cut up the parsnips into medium dice rather than big chunks.

This gives a greater surface area to get nice and toasty, as well as cooking more quickly.

For a soup to serve four people you’ll need around 800 grams of parsnips. That’s the weight before trimming and peeling, by the way.

Simply toss the diced parsnip in melted coconut oil, a couple of teaspoons of the Spice Mix, plus salt and pepper.

Pop them onto a baking tray and roast until charred and just tender.

This should take around 20 minutes.

If you’re going to make my suggested garnishes of crispy parsnip shards and spicy croutons, these can go in the oven at the same time as the parsnips.

However, if you’re not great at multi-tasking then do them while the soup is simmering as they can burn easily. The bread croutons take 10-15 minutes to get crispy. The parsnip shards (cut very thinly with a potato peeler) just 7-10 minutes. I lightly spice the parsnip and the bread with ground cumin and coriander, a little turmeric, chilli flakes plus salt and melted coconut oil.

Note that I don’t recommend you use my Spice Mix for either the crispy parsnip or the croutons. That’s because, cooked quickly in the dry heat of the oven, it could become bitter.

The Spice Mix is much better simmered in the soup. This mellows the harsher fenugreek and turmeric and melds the flavours nicely.

MAKING THE SOUP

While the parsnips are roasting, you can be getting on with making the soup base.

Start by frying cumin and mustard seeds in coconut oil until they pop and splutter.

Chopped onion is then added and softened for around ten minutes. Garlic, ginger and fresh chillies go in next and briefly sizzled.

When that’s done, you can add the roasted parsnips to the pan along with a generous amount of Spice Mix.

Next goes in stock or plain water. I suggest starting with 750 ml of liquid. This makes for a thick soup once pureed, but you can thin it with more stock or water later. However, as you’ll see, I prefer to leave it at 750 ml and loosen with creamy coconut milk at the end.

Once you’ve brought everything to a gentle simmer, it’ll take around 15 minutes for the vegetables to become completely soft.

The rawness from the spices should be cooked away too. But if you think it needs longer, give it another five minutes or so. When you’re happy, go in with a stick blender and whizz to a smooth soup.

If it’s too thick for your taste, then stir in more stock or water. Or do as I do, and add some lovely thick coconut milk.

All that’s left to do then is taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. A quick squeeze of lemon to give it a final zing and Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup is ready to serve.

SERVING SPICY ROASTED PARSNIP SOUP

If you’re only going to add one of my suggested garnishes, then I recommend the crispy parsnip shards. Beautiful to look at, I love the crunchy contrast to the smooth, velvety soup.

Because I think most dishes seem incomplete without a bit of green, I add a few whole coriander leaves. Here I sprinkled over a little ground cumin and some Aleppo pepper flakes too.

But the way I really love to eat Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup is to first add another dollop of coconut milk. The good stuff is like thick cream and fantastic swirled through each bowl.

Over that I scatter some crunchy, lightly spicy croutons, before adding the parsnip shards and coriander.

Eaten like this, a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach, it’s hard to believe we started off with some muddy root veg, isn’t it?

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Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup

Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup is just what's needed on chilly days: comforting, warming and delicious.

Try it topped with crispy parsnip shards, spiced croutons and a swirl of coconut milk.

Course Soup, Main Course, Light Meal

Cuisine Vegetarian, Vegan, Indian inspired, plant-based, World

Keyword autumn, winter, spicy

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 4

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

Spice Mix

• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground fenugreek
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• ½-2 tsp chilli powder or flakes hot or mild

For the roasted parsnips

• 800 g parsnips (weight before prep) peeled and diced
• 25 g coconut oil, melted or other preferred oil
• 2 tsp Spice Mix
• salt and black pepper

For the croutons

• 15 g coconut oil melted
• 1 pinch each ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli, salt
• 100 g crusty bread cut into 1cm cubes

For the parsnip shard garnish

• 1 medium parsnip trimmed and peeled
• 15 g coconut oil melted
• 1 pinch each ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli, salt

For the soup base

• 25 g coconut oil or other preferred oil
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 large onion chopped
• 6 cloves garlic finely chopped or grated
• 8-10 g ginger finely chopped or grated
• 2 red chillies deseeded, finely chopped
• 2 level tbsp Spice Mix
• 1 level tsp salt
• 1 rounded tsp brown sugar or other sweetener
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 750-900 ml stock or water
• 150 ml coconut milk optional
• ¼ lemon juice only

To serve (optional)

• coconut milk
• coriander leaf
• ground cumin
• chilli flakes

Instructions

Make the Spice Mix

1. In a small bowl or jar, stir or shake all the spices together then set aside.

Roast the parsnips

1. Preheat the oven to 220C / 200C Fan / Gas 7

   Put the prepared parsnips on a roasting tray big enough to fit them in a single layer. Toss with the oil, Spice Mix plus salt and pepper.

   Roast for 20 minutes or until charred and just tender.

   Remove from the oven and set aside.

Make the croutons

1. Stir together the oil and spices in a small bowl then add the bread cubes.

   Toss well so the bread is coated.

   Put the bread cubes on a small baking tray in a single layer.

   Cook at 220C / 200C Fan / Gas 7 until crispy and browned all over, turning occasionally and making sure they don't burn (10-15 minutes).

   Remove from the oven and set aside.

For the parsnip shard garnish

1. Using a potato peeler, slice the parsnip very thinly then place on a baking tray in a single layer.

   Stir together the oil and spices, drizzle them over the parsnip and toss well.

   Cook at 220C / 200C Fan / Gas 7 until crispy and browned all over, turning occasionally and making sure they don't burn (7-10 minutes).

   Remove from the oven and set aside: they will crisp further as they cool.

Make the soup base

1. Heat the coconut oil in a saucepan over medium high heat.

2. Stir in the cumin and mustard seeds and cook until they pop and sputter.
3. Reduce the heat to medium then add the onion and cook until it's becoming soft and translucent (10-12 min).

4. Stir in the garlic, chillies and ginger and cook, stirring, for 2 min.

5. Add the roasted parsnips, 2 level tbsp of Spice Mix, the salt, sugar and black pepper.

   Stir in 750ml of the stock, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

   Put on a lid and bring to the boil before reducing the temperature to a gentle simmer.

6. Simmer until all the vegetables are soft and any rawness has gone from the spices (approx 12-15 min).

   Use a stick blender to whizz the soup to your preferred consistency.

   Stir the coconut milk if using, or thin the soup with extra stock or water if preferred.

   Taste and add more seasoning if needed.

To serve

1. Stir in the lemon juice then divide the soup between four bowls.

   Add a swirl of coconut milk if liked, then scatter with the croutons, parsnip shards and coriander leaf. Sprinkle over the cumin and chilli flakes and serve.

   Without the garnishes, the soup can be chilled and stored in the fridge for 3 days or frozen.

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