Chunky Thai Parsnip Soup

I used up some leftovers to make this chunky soup/stew for  our lunch yesterday, mainly to use up a couple of very soft parsnips that I’d bought in anticipation of  a mothers’ day roast last week, but which had been forgotten (we still had a huge roast without them).

Amazingly, at this time of year, I did manage to get something homegrown into the mix, by way of some garlic and a very small leek – a second crop of leeks seems to have appeared by itself in the garden this year.  Unfortunately our efforts at growing parsnips didn’t produce a single one this year.

I also included some coriander which, despite being 2 weeks old, looked pretty much as fresh as the day I bought it, having been stored wrapped in a damp teatowel in the fridge.

Plus half a jar of Thai paste, some powdered coconut milk, half a pepper and some chicken stock – my first attempt at home made stock which I was really please with.  If I had noticed the ginger in the fridge I really should have used that too.

Method:

1. Slice small leek (or you could use an onion) and fry gently.
2. Add chopped garlic and red Thai curry paste to taste ( we used half a jar but it was a rather mild one)
3. Fry gently for a couple of minutes until the leek or onion starts to soften and then add the coconut milk / stock.  I think I added about 500ml which as you can see makes a very thick soup so you may want to add more.
4. Add a couple of peeled and chopped parsnips.
5. Bring to the boil – after about 10 mins add a chopped red pepper.
6. Continue to simmer until the parsnips are tender.  This took around another 20 mins.
7. Add some of the coriander close to the end of cooking, saving the rest to add as a garnish.
8. Either blend to make a smooth soup, or simply use a potato masher as I did for a chunkier texture.
9. Serve with the remaining coriander.

Zero waste tips:

I was able to get the parsnips, coriander and pepper unpackaged from the market, keeping the coriander fresh in a damp teatowel.

The paste was in a glass jar – but you could substitute fresh ginger, lemongrass, and chilli.

The chicken stock was homemade after we had friends round for a roast a few weeks ago.  I used this chicken stock recipe  although minus the celery as I hadn’t planned the stock making so didn’t have any.  I reduced it to a concentrate and stored in the freezer.

Cooking in a Wonderbag:

To cook this in a Wonderbag extend the cooking time at step 5 to 15 mins and then transfer to the Wonderbag for an hour. For more about the Wonderbag see my earlier post: Vegetable Curry in a Wonderbag

 

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A variation on this recipe is available on an earlier post Red Thai Spicy Parsnip and Coconut Soup

 

 

 

 

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Red Thai Spicy Parsnip and Coconut Soup

This is a really tasty way of making the most of the last few winter veggies from the allotment, specially since we had to dig up the last remaining root veg up a couple of weeks ago to move across to the adjacent plot.

You can adapt to whatever veg you have on hand but I used (to serve 2-3 generously):

A couple of parnips (diced)

A potato (diced)

A red onion (chopped)

A clove of garlic (chopped or crushed)

A couple of teaspoons of Red Thai paste

A handful of dessicated coconut (or coconut milk)

A red pepper (sliced)

A small amount of spinach (frozen is fine)

Can add some chill flakes too if you like it more spicy.

Method:

Put the dessicated coconut into a pint jug and fill up with boiling water (or stock if you prefer) .  Leave to one side.

Fry the chopped onion until it starts to soften and then add the garlic (chopped or crushed) and the red Thai paste.

Then add the parsnip, potato, dessicated coconut plus water (or can of coconut milk)

Bring to boil and simmer for approx 10 mins before adding the red pepper and spinach.

Simmer for another 10 mins or so until the potato and parsnip are soft, adding more water/stock as necessary.

Then whizz up in a blender to the consistency you prefer ( personally I prefer to blitz around half then stir back in, leaving the rest with some chunkier pieces).