As Cynthia mentioned previously, one of the meals we particularly enjoyed in Scotland was a roast parsnip soup. Shortly after our return, I made my first attempt at a parsnip and butternut squash soup. While not bad, I consider this a work in progress.
Ingredients
- 2 Parsnips
- 1 Butternut Squash
- 1 large onion
- 1 head garlic
- 1 cup milk
- 1 vegetable soup bouillon cube
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 cups (or more) water
Peel and cube the parsnips and butternut squash into 1/2″ cubes. Place in a greased oven safe dish. Peel all the garlic bulbs, and place in the dish, making sure they aren’t contacting the dish itself (otherwise they burn). Chop the onion and place on top. Place dish in the oven and roast for half an hour at 300F (or however long until the onion is done). Remove onion and put aside. Return the rest of the veggies to roast until the squash and parsnip are done (an hour more for me, frankly I should have left it in even longer than that).
Once cooked, in small batches blend the onion, garlic, parsnip and squash until a smooth puree. Add water as required to keep things blending smoothly. Put puree in large stock pot with the rest of the ingredients and heat slowly. Stir frequently. Add more (or less) water to get the consistency you want. I simmered it for 15 minutes, that seemed to be long enough.
Not this most visually appealing. This was before adding the water
Things for improvement
When I next do this again, I’ll replace the milk and butter with cream, but probably not a full cup of it. I’ll add more seasoning (probably fresh ginger root). And I’ll roast the veggies at a higher temperature. The parsnip wasn’t as done as it should have been.
[Edit – March 2018]
We’ve made variations on this quite a few times now. Using an immersion blender makes things so much easier, faster, and in the end, smoother. – Matt