In Between Tureens

Was walking along East Ave the other day and came across this (picture above). Reminded me of a tureen without a lid. Kinda. Maybe it was just my subconscious longing for soup on a winter afternoon.

One must go where the subconsious takes us and I found myself making Spiced Roast Parsnip Soup. I'd seen Fahara's post at Alanna's blog and it caught my eye. My first encounter with parsnips, many moons ago, involved butter and gentle sautéing. The warm parsnip rings were golden brown, their good-natured sweetness showcased in every bite.

Sweet and buttery, I could not imagine parsnips in a spiced soup. Even more intriguing, the spices Fahara used were ones I thought of as 'Indian'. Turmeric, coriander, cumin... (Time for the little frog to jump out of her well!) Fahara's recipe worked like a charm. Many many thanks for sharing!


Heres what I did:
1. Diced 2 parnsips and 1 carrot into 1/2 inch cubes. Tossed with olive oil, coriander, cumin, mustard, turmeric powder. Dash of salt and pepper.
- Confession: I have a deep distrust of tomatoes and tend to fret over them while cooking. So I left the tomatoes out for a stressfree soup experience.
2. Baked at 350 degrees F for about 30 mins.
3. In the meantime, browned half a red onion and a quarter bulb of fennel in a smidgen of butter.
4. Ground them all up to a puree.
5. Topped with a generous squeeze of lemon juice.

The soup is a delightful blend of flavors - subtle sweetness from the hearty parsnips balanced with the well-behaved coriander/cumin spice combination. In and of themselves, each flavor is one that we all know and are familiar with. They come together with natural unforced grace in this creative yet unfussy soup.

Resources:
1. Original recipe from Soup Kitchen
2. All kinds of parsnip trivia. To summarize, parsnips are a good source of fiber and minerals and what not. Turns out turmeric, coriander and cumin are all good for ya!
3. In Between Tureens inspired by 'In Between Dreams' Its all an excuse to google Jack Johnson :-)

Anh, may I send this one to you for Weekend Herb Blogging # 77? Thank you for hosting and Happy Easter!