I must confess that I am not a big soup eater, I never order it in a restaurant, never eat it out of a tin, but occasionally I do indulge in a beautiful New Covent Garden Food Co soup.

Also a couple of years a go I brought their book ‘Soup For All Occasions’, which until recently I hadn’t really cooked from, but now I am hooked and as the weather is turning a little chillier, I am trying to get into the habit of making fresh soup on a Friday, ready for lunches over the weekend.

This works out very well, as we always sit in bed on a Saturday morning, ordering our Ocado food shop for the following week, soup making gives me the perfect excuse to use any left over bits and bobs from the vegetable drawers in the fridge. I hate wasting food!

This soup would be perfect for a Christmas Day starter, nice and simple, you can make it in advance, store it in the fridge and just reheat when you need it. The flavours are gorgeous, sweet and yummy, with a little hint of the spices. I personally, if I wasn’t making this for the Children, would add a little more spice, just for a little extra kick.

What I love about soup is, you don’t need any skill in the kitchen, you don’t need any fancy equipment, as long as you have a saucepan & a good food blender you can make perfect, wholesome yummy soup, which can not fail to impress your guests.

As the book says, “a worthy gift for your true love on the first day of Christmas”.

Buon appetito

 

 

 

 

Serves 4
800ml vegetable stock
3 large (500g) parsnips, chopped
100ml single cream
1 medium onion, diced
1 pear, peeled and diced
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1cm piece ginger, chopped
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander

Heat the oil in a saucepan, then add the onion and the garlic and cook until softened.

Add the garam masala, cumin, coriander and ginger, then stir well and fry for 1 – 2 minutes.

Add the parsnips and stock, then bring tot he boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Add the pear and blend until smooth.

Reheat gently, adding the cream and stirring well.

Serve with vegetable crisps as a garnish:-
Simply peel and slice a parsnip very thinly into rounds, then pat dry. Heat some groundnut or vegetable oil in a saucepan (approx 2cm deep) until smoking, then fry the parsnip slices in small batches for 2 – 3 minutes each, until golden. Drain on kitchen paper, allow to cool, then serve in piles in the middle of the soup.