This week I began reading ‘Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat’ by Bee Wilson. It might not sound the most riveting of reads, but it caught my interest very quickly. For example, did you know that unlike roasting and barbecuing, which can be traced back hundreds of thousands of years, evidence of clay cooking pots can only be traced back 9000-10,000 years?
I don’t know about you, but I could not imagine getting by without my four pots (large soup, 2 medium sized for everyday use and a small pot for reheating or cooking for one). They are indispensable.
With pots on the brain and too many parsnips sitting in my fridge, I had an obvious answer to the question "what's for dinner?". The recipe below is from Deborah Madison's The New Vegetarian Cookbook for Everyone. A tablespoon of white rice seems to give it a silky texture, while the ginger gives a subtle heat; all in all, it's just what's needed on a cold day.
Parsnip Soup with Ginger
- 2 large parsnips, peeled
- 1.5ltr vegetable stock or water
- 115g chopped coriander (cilantro) stems
- 4 thin slices ginger, unpeeled
- 3 tbsp butter, ghee or oil
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 3 large carrots, scrubbed and thinly sliced
- 1 ½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp white rice
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 250ml milk, cream or almond milk to thin soup as needed
If you are preparing vegetable stock, you can add the parsnip trimmings, coriander stems and 1 slice of the ginger. Brown the vegetables a bit of oil before you add them in to bring out their flavours. Strain the stock before adding it to the soup later.
Cut the parsnips into quarters and cut away the cores.
In a large soup pot, melt butter until it starts to brown. Add the vegetables, remaining 3 slices of ginger and ground coriander. Cook, stirring frequently until the onion and carrots have begun to colour.
Add the rice and salt and let it cook for a few minutes. Add the stock, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered until the vegetables are very soft (20-30 mins).
This recipe calls for the ginger to be removed at this point in time. However, I left it in and thought it added a lovely heat to the final soup. Puree the soup to your desired consistency and thin with milk to suit your taste.
To serve
My preference when serving soup is to have it with a thick piece of crusty bread.