It's detox time! (She writes as she bites down on yet another nougat filled chocolate truffle). There are two ways to approach the stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas: one is to adopt the attitude of 'go big or go home' and see each Christmas cookie as a testament to your love of elves and sprinkles; the other is to pull the reigns in on dear Ruldolph and to pass on the spiked egg nog and the bûche de noel until Christmas Eve. The chocolate lipstick I'm currently sporting would suggest that I am trying to eat everything that glitters and shimmers (even the gingerbread ornaments), but, really I'm trying to eat my veggies and calm my system after our Thanksgiving feast on Saturday. Oh, and just so you know, I've decided that the leftover pumpkin pie that I've been eating for breakfast counts as a vegetable.
Speaking of vegetables, I'm guessing you think these are parsnips. And now, after that last sentence, you know that they aren't. They are parsley roots. I can't say I've ever cooked with parsley root before, but I came to love the gentle flavor and smooth thick texture that they gave to the soup. Aside from the rare root the secret to this soup is a tablespoon or two of almond butter. I know! I eat almond butter by the spoonful, but I never imagined adding it to a soup. It really helps to round out the already nutty flavors of the parsley root and the ground caraway seeds. Squeeze in the lemon juice and enjoy.
It won't wow you on looks, but then again what soup really does. It's all about warmth and flavor when it comes to soup. I added a bit of sauteed spinach to the soup when it was done, but it's not must.
// Parsley Root Soup //
adapted from Suppito
4-5 parsley roots, peeled and chopped
2 floury potatoes
1 leek, whites only, chopped
1 tsp garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp caraway seeds, roasted and ground
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 liters (4-6 cups) vegetable broth
1-2 Tbsp almond butter
a few drops lemon juice
Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add in the vegetables and caraway, stirring until the leaks have softened slightly and the caraway is fragrant. Pour 3/4 of the vegetable stock over the vegetables (or enough to just cover the vegetables), cover the pot, and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Puree the soup, adding more broth as needed to achieve desired consistency. Stir in the almond butter and salt and pepper to taste.
The soup looks delicious. Beautiful vegetables. That tree is really cool too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tree!!!! And that soup looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteI've never cooked with parsley root, but I've been seeing it in the market. Now I know what to do! The soup will have to wait a bit, though, because I'm on a diet of chocolate and candy canes till New Years. :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks like my kind of soup. I just saw some parsley root at the store last week and wondered what it might be good for. So does the root taste like parsley at all? Does it taste like a parsnip?
ReplyDeleteI would be with you on the vegetable front, but I'm working on yet another draft of my paper, so I think my default diet will involve some combination of leftovers from one-pot meals, lots of coffee, and tiny cinnamon-sugar doughnuts from the food truck on campus.