What to do With Parsnips

Stuck indoors on these cold Spring days we've had here in the midAtlantic, I've been struggling to find the right balance of meal and inactivity. Solution? Soup!

And what a terrific recipe to make. Sure, usually, you expect to hear that a soup is delicious. there are entire restaurants dedicated to just making the stuff. But this soup truly is delightful to make. It’s the process of roasting garlic, rosemary, onion, and parsnips for nearly an hour that transforms the experience of making this soup from work to sheer pleasure.

Rest assured, if you live in an apartment complex or have neighbors in close proximity as I do, the neighbors will ask what the heck you’re making. This cooking process makes the kind of smell in your home that you hope for each time you walk into a fine Italian or Mediterranean restaurant.

And again, like Scott’s butternut squash soup, this one is big enough for a meal, but also delicate enough to be a starter for a much bigger meal. As usual, if it’s a starter, I recommend using espresso cups for serving or very small bowls. If it is the entrée, I highly recommend that amazing yeasty olive breads you can get in Ralphs, Safeway, Kroger, Harris Teeter, and a whole host of mainstream supermarkets these days. La Brea Bakery bread will work just perfectly and take this from just a soup to a main course in seconds.

The white beans make it filling and hearty; the parsnips and garlic make it tasty and memorable. As I write this, I’m kinda drooling just thinking about it. 

I’m suddenly hungry for lunch, and it’s only 10:30 a.m.

As you can I skipped the pumpkin seeds entirely. No need. Although visually, I’d agree, it’d look better.

But don’t kill yourself making dinner. Simplify your life with this 4-step dinner process. It’ll be much better than anything you’ve had at Panera, and your house will smell amazing.

A big thanks to Catherine Gewertz of Curvy Mama Pies for today's recipe.

Roasted Garlic, Parsnips, and White Bean Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients

4–6 extra large cloves of garlic, skin intact, left whole

1 lb. parships (about 4), cut into 1=inch pieces

1 onion chopped roughly

1 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed or 2 cups of cooked white beans

6 c water or vegetable broth

1 T lemon juice (the juice of about ½ lemon)

2 T olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 T dried rosemary (or a 2”-3” sprig of fresh)

1 T salt

Toasted pumpkin seeds, to serve

Directions

• Preheat over to 400 degrees F.
• On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss garlic, parsnips, onion, oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Roast for 45 to 55 minutes until garlic and parsnips are tender and turning golden.
• Gently squeeze garlic from the skins and put into your food processor along with all the roast vegatables, beans, water or brother. Puree in batches
• Transfer blended soup to a large pot, bring to a simmer, stir so the soup doesn’t scorch the bottom of the pot.
• Serve hot with sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and drizzle of olive oil.

Lemon or Parmesan?

Some of my guests squeezed drops from the half lemon into the soup. The original recipe calls for cooking the lemon juice into the soup on the final simmer; however, the lemon significantly changes the flavor. I recommend against doing that. I also tapped a teaspoon of parmigiano reggiano over the top, and olive oil—the lemon was superfluous.

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