Spiced Parsnip and Cauliflower Soup

I have made and photographed this soup (or a version of it) many times before this recipe came out, as it’s one I’ve come back to time and time again. I’d been thinking about it a lot recently and I know it’s soon to become a staple for me, whatever the weather. I thought what better time than now to share it, as part of my Nourishing Amy Advent as it would make a delicious and exciting starter to a festive menu.

That said, this soup is perfect for the cooler wintry days, when the sun is tempting outside with its golden rays, but you know it’s far too cold to go outside and enjoy it. Instead, I’ve brought the sunshine indoors with this bowl of warmth.

As I said, I have been making and tweaking this soup for well over a year now, each time making slight adjustments or using up ingredients I had to hand. But as I went along this time, I knew I’d found my favourite version. I wanted to add fresh ginger for a gently fiery heat along with chilli flakes to offer my body some flu-fighting fuel. I also wanted fresh ginger for savoury twist to contrast the beautifully sweet parsnips. I love these root vegetables and look for any excuse to enjoy them throughout the year. They add a wonderful richness to this soup and I like to keep it really thick and almost pillowy.

I’ve added cauliflower for extra vegetables and the piece de resistance for me, is to top the Spiced Parsnip and Cauliflower Soup with a few little cauliflower leaf crisps which I still make every time I use cauliflower. Both vegetables work beautifully with a little ground cumin and rich cinnamon to add a welcome texture contrast to the bowl.

If you’re looking for a creamier soup, I sometimes reduce the amount of stock by half and use half coconut milk from a tin, too. Both versions are delicious and soul-satisfying. If you’re looking for leftovers, then this soup is a great option, just increase the recipe as necessary and you’ll have bowls of goodness for the next few days.

Spiced Parsnip and Cauliflower Soup

• Servings: 2
• Time: 30 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A wonderfully creamy soup with cumin spiced notes and sweet parsnip that will warm you up on a cold winters day.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 white onion, small dice
• ½ cauliflower, chopped small (florets and stalk)
• 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped small
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp brown rice miso paste
• 400ml vegetable stock (or 200ml stock and 200ml coconut milk from a tin)
• Black pepper
• To serve: coconut yoghurt, extra seasoning, cauliflower lead crisps, bread

Directions

1. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion for 10 minutes until really soft.
2. Add the cumin, cinnamon and chilli flakes and stir for a minute until fragrant. Add in the cauliflower and parsnips and continue to heat for 1 minute before adding the miso paste, stock (or stock and coconut milk) and black pepper.
3. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until all the vegetables are soft.
4. Prepare the cauliflower leaf crisps, if desired.
5. Pour the soup into a large mixing bowl and puree with a hand help immersion blender or transfer to a blender and process until smooth. Adjust the seasoning to taste and add a little more stock or coconut milk if a thinner consistency is preferred.
6. Warm the soup back up if necessary and ladle into bowls, topped with a spoon of coconut yoghurt, a sprinkling of chilli flakes and black pepper and a few cauliflower leaf crisps. This is great with crusty bread dunked in.

I love serving this soup for chunks of crusty bread or my new favourite sourdough crumpets but your preferred bread or flatbread would be great. I hope you’ll enjoy this soup as much as I have done so in creating it and I look forward to seeing your re-creations. let me know my tagging me on Instagram – I’m @nourishing.amy and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. Say hello below, too. You can also find me on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – do say hi!

With spiced parsnip love x