sage

Meet my new favorite soup for the past month. This soup has gotten us through the repeated snow storms we have been having here in New York. It has eased the pain and monotony of being cooped up inside, (with a potty-training-toddler!) sheltering ourselves from the bitter, painful cold outside. It has been a welcome reward after braving the cold to shovel yet more snow. Is it spring yet?

Parsnips are delicious and, in my opinion, are an under used root vegetable. At least they have been in my house. I do occasionally roast them and they are so good, they taste like candy. Literally. They are a very sweet vegetable. For those of you that don’t know what a parsnip is, it is the ‘white carrot’. It looks very similar to a carrot, but it’s cream-colored, has a tougher texture and is much sweeter.

The parsnips in this soup are paired with white beans which seems to mellow out the parsnip flavor a bit. It is a wonderful flavor combination and the addition of sage really brings an earthy component. This soup is on the thicker side, and creamy, yet there is no cream or potatoes in the recipe. The magic of pureed beans!

On the topic of sage, it was the one herb in my garden that remained throughout a good portion of this winter. Even in the freezing cold, a few leaves were still there, hanging on for dear life. It was the arrival of Winter Storm Juno that did my poor sage in. Nothing could survive that storm.

I have Jamie Oliver to thank for this particular recipe (among many others). I kinda have a small crush on him. Most of his recipes (I try the easier ones) are fantastic and I think he is funny and adorable and I’m impressed with his Food Revolution crusade. I particularly love his 15- Minute Meals show and am hoping more of his shows will come to the US.

This is a very easy soup recipe to make. And I hear we are supposed to get more snow this week, so you might want to go buy some parsnips.

Here’s what you will need to serve 4-6 people…

Recipe

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter (optional)

3 medium parsnips (2 cups), peeled and chopped into cubes

1 large onion, roughly chopped

3 dried bay leaves

2 15-oz (or 19oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

7 medium sage leaves, chopped

48 oz low-sodium chicken stock

salt & pepper to taste

Method

Heat the oil and butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the parsnips (don’t be tempted to add more than 2 cups, it will make the soup too sweet), onion, salt & pepper, stirring occasionally until softened and translucent. Add the white beans, sage and stock. Stir to combine. Add the bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, partially cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes.

Allow soup to cool slightly and then puree in batches in a high powered blender. The texture of the soup should be silky smooth.

Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver

Parsnip And White Bean Soup

Author: Feasts And Fotos

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter (optional)
3 medium parsnips (2 cups), peeled and chopped into cubes
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 dried bay leaves
2 15-oz cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
7 medium sage leaves, chopped
48 oz low-sodium chicken stock
salt & pepper to taste

Method

Heat the oil and butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the parsnips, onion, salt & pepper, stirring occasionally until softened and translucent. Add the white beans, sage and stock. Stir to combine. Add the bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, partially cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes.
Allow soup to cool slightly and then puree in batches in a high powered blender. The texture of the soup should be silky smooth.

Most soups I make are prepared using the same method; sauteing onions, garlic and veggies in a pot on the stove and then adding stock and simmering away. This soup turns that method upside down! I loved the concept and it sounded so easy. Naturally, I thought, could it actually be good?

Oh yeah! So good. I am already a huge fan of oven roasting vegetables to eat as a side dish. Favorites are broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. I feel roasting the vegetables really brings out their flavor, so much more than, let’s say, steaming.

The other element that I love about this soup is that it includes eggplant. Eggplant! I haven’t come across many soup recipes with eggplant in them, have you? To be honest, you would be hard pressed to detect the eggplant in here. All the flavors of the vegetables blend well and are so delicious. Even the sage, it’s there in the background, not overpowering at all. The sage I used to make this particular pot of soup came from my garden, still going strong in December! It is a hearty herb, that sage.

I am happy to report that this soup recipe is quite forgiving. I think if you stick to the base vegetables (eggplant, carrots, potatoes) you can add some others (celery, parsnips) and it would be just as great. Making this recipe would be a great way to clear out your fridge of any root veggies that might be slightly past their prime. You can also comfortably make some substitutions. Don’t have shallots? Add an onion instead. Want this soup to be vegetarian? Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. Prefer it to be a touch thinner? Add more stock. Forgiving is good.

This roasted vegetable soup is very delicious and super comforting on a cold, snowy day (we’ve already had quite a few in the NY area). It is very thick, so it is filling and perfect on its own for a lunch or light dinner. And thick enough that my 3-year-old can feed herself this soup, which she loves.

Add a slice of toasted rustic bread to dip and you will be in heaven.

Here’s what you will need to serve 6-8…

Recipe

3-4 tbsp olive oil

1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped into 2 inch cubes

3 carrots, sliced into 1 inch pieces

3 large shallots, quartered

6 cloves garlic, whole

2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks

6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

3 large sage leaves

sea salt & pepper, to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Oil the bottom of a large, rimmed sheet pan with 1 tbsp of oil (rub it around with your fingers to coat) and add everything except the sage leaves. Add 2-3 tbsp of olive oil, salt & pepper and toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer.

Roast for 45 minutes, flipping vegetables once or twice, ensuring they brown slightly but do not burn. Remove pan from oven, add sage leaves on top of veggies on one side of the pan, and then pile the remaining veggies on top of the sage leaves. The heat from the veggies will wilt the sage. Allow to cool slightly.

In a high powered blender, add vegetables and broth in manageable batches. Pour into a large pot, heat slightly and serve or store in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.

Recipe adapted from Clean Eating Magazine

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Author: Feasts And Fotos

Ingredients

3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped into 2 inch cubes
3 carrots, sliced into 1 inch pieces
3 large shallots, quartered
6 cloves garlic, whole
2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chuncks
6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
3 large sage leaves
sea salt & pepper, to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Oil the bottom of a large, rimmed sheet pan with 1 tbsp of oil (rub it around with your fingers to coat) and add everything except the sage leaves. Add 2-3 tbsp of olive oil, salt & pepper and toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer.
Roast for 45 minutes, flipping vegetables once or twice, ensuring they brown slightly but do not burn. Remove pan from oven, add sage leaves on top of veggies on one side of the pan, and then pile the remaining veggies on top of the sage leaves. The heat from the veggies will wilt the sage. Allow to cool slightly.
In a high powered blender, add vegetables and broth in manageable batches. Pour into a large pot, heat slightly and serve or store in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.