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This Parsnip and Potato Soup is creamy, slightly sweet, and everything you want in a homemade soup.
HOMEMADE PARSNIP POTATO SOUP
Hello my lovelies! I hope you are having a beautiful and blessed Sunday. I want to hug you all for always coming by here and reading my words, taking in my silliness, and hopefully laughing with me and not at me. 😛
Pictured above are two bowls filled withParsnip and Potato Soup. A warm, silky, chunky, and VERY good soup. Like, lick your bowl to the last drop good. I wish we had taste-o-vision!
I’m totally trying to sell this soup with potatoes and parsnip, but I shouldn’t try so hard. It speaks for itself. It’s delicious!
On another note, I’m totally on a soup kick and it’s all because of that white stuff on the ground – it won’t go away! Don’t worry, I won’t talk about the weather, but you should know that I really want sun. That’s all.
Just a few short days ago, we enjoyed some French Onion Soup, and two days before that we had this Parsnip and Potato Soup – I had to keep us warm, somehow. The thermostat goes only up to 85. Oops. There I go talking about the weather again. Sorry. So, how are you? How are the kids? How’s the weather by you? Is it warm? That’s nice. We’re freezing.
But, even if it’s warm by you, you still need to taste this soup. I mean, you still need to eat your parsnips, right? How often do you eat parsnips? See! Not very often. I knew it! Now you get to have two parsnips all at once!
This soup is so simple and it comes together in like, I dunno, 47 minutes. You chop up a few root vegetables, chiffonade some fresh basil, (chiffonade? I sound like I know what I’m talkin’ about!) pour in some veggie stock, and let the soup go to town! Don’t forget the seasonings – you know, salt ‘n peppa. They kinda add flavor to like everything.
Once your house is filled with a delicious aroma, the soup is nearly done. Next thing is to just reach for your immersion blender and give this soup a couple of spins here and there. I don’t puree all of it – I leave a few chunks for texture. I am big on texture. You can also use a blender. Or not. You don’t have to use either one. You can have this soup in a chunky form. Noone will judge.
ENJOY!
Parsnip and Potato Soup
Katerina | Diethood
This Parsnip and Potato Soup is creamy, slightly sweet, and everything you want in a homemade soup.
2tablespoonschopped fresh basil, or 1 tablespoon dried basil
salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
1bay leaf
4cupslow sodium vegetable broth, or enough to just cover the vegetables - you can also use 2 cans (14.5-ounces each) of vegetable broth
1/2cup2% milk (you can also use half & half or heavy cream), optional
1/4teaspoonchili powder, optional
Instructions
Melt the butter in a large heavy pot and pour in the olive oil.
Add the chopped parsnips, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.
Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the vegetable broth.
Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
Discard bay leaf.
Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to blend the soup until creamy. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a blender and blend until smooth. This should be done in several batches.
Return soup to pot and, if using, add milk; add in chili powder and stir to combine.
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Possibilities include cream, coconut milk, yogurt, or even pureed avocado. If you choose coconut milk, be aware that it will impart a sweet, coconut flavor, which might not be right for every soup. Yogurt will add tanginess.
Cornstarch. Cornstarch is a very effective thickener, and a little bit can go a long way. Add cornstarch to a small amount of cold water or other liquid (wine or stock) and whisk into a thick slurry. Then the slurry can be stirred into a simmering soup, a bit at a time to set the final consistency.
As for me, here are the common sense lessons learned:
Once this does happen, you can tone down the sweetness by adding spices like cumin, nutmeg or lemon juice. Deviate from the recipe to reduce sweetness. Instead of adding 4 parsnip to the recipe, reduce the number of parsnip by half.
It may sound a bit strange and unusual for some, but vinegar is a common ingredient in some soup recipes, and there is a good reason for it. If you think about it, vinegar is really a flavor-enhancer (umami). That's why it is so often used in cooking, sauces, and salad dressings. The same is true with soups.
About this method: One of the most common ways to thicken sauces and soups is with a starch-based slurry, and cornstarch is a popular choice. Cornstarch is flavorless, easy to mix up, and versatile, which makes it a go-to pantry ingredient.
It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. If you need to substitute cornstarch to thicken liquid in a recipe that calls for ¼ cup (four tablespoons) flour, you only need two tablespoons cornstarch.
Adding/mixing water in the soup makes the soup less thick. (discrepencies apply. You could use more vegetables/fruits/ingredients with water in them in your soup or just plain ol' pour in water, though ratio applies.
However, if parsnips have been allowed to grow too big or remain too long in storage, they tend to get woodier and bitter. Thus, it is recommended that larger parsnips be peeled and that the “woody” core in the middle be cut out before preparing.
Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.
Did you know that parsnips are primarily harvested in winter because they taste better when the weather is cold? Once parsnips experience frost, they becomes sweeter and tastier. Stored starches in the parsnip are broken down and converted to sugar, which is why they have that delicious sweetness.
How to prepare parsnips. Young, small parsnips don't really need peeling – just scrub clean and serve whole. Older parsnips should be peeled very thinly with a peeler or sharp knife, then chopped into evenly sized chunks. If the central core is very fibrous, this should be cut away.
Yes, you can definitely add cream to your soup. Whether you use a few tablespoons or a few cups, cream gives soup a silky mouthfeel and rich flavor. You can definitely add milk or other dairy as well, though it will taste gradually less creamy as you go down in percent.
Some common soup thickeners include flour, cornstarch, arrowroot, roux (a mixture of flour and fat), potato starch, and tapioca. These thickeners help to give soups a thicker, more substantial texture.
Yogurt, Sour Cream, and Crème Fraîche – Dairy like yogurt, sour cream, and crème fraîche can add a creamy acidity to soups, but can curdle and be unpleasant if cooked over heat for too long, so swirl these in last.
Introduction: My name is Frankie Dare, I am a funny, beautiful, proud, fair, pleasant, cheerful, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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