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

 

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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

1. 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.
2. Allow soup to cool slightly and then puree in batches in a high powered blender. The texture of the soup should be silky smooth.

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