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Sweet parsnips, spicy ginger, and deliciously smoky garlic come together in my thick and warming soup that’s topped with protein-packed roasted chilli chickpeas, plus fresh coriander. This gingery parsnip soup with spicy roasted chickpeas is the perfect antidote to chilly weather!
As much as I love hot weather (and I really do), the big advantage of cooler temps is that I get to cook all the hearty foods I love so much. Yay!
(Goodbye waistline!)
Toward the end of autumn, I start looking forward to all the soups, stews, and casseroles I’ll be making with the abundance of locally-grown produce. In the depths of winter and early spring, while it may be cold and grey outside, and positively damp (it’s rarely cold and white, esp. here, right by the sea – and no, it doesn’t actually rain that much), in our home, it’s warm and super-cosy, and there’s generally a pot of soup on the go (in my slow cooker on days I’m at the café). The place is filled with comforting soupy aromas, which, I have to admit, is so lovely to come home to after cooking all day of cooking for clients.
Unless it’s broccoli soup… or anything with brassicas in. Then my home smells farty. And that’s really not very good.
I no longer cook brassica-based soups in the slow cooker.
Obvs.
Making Gingery Parsnip Soup
Although I’m generally not a fan of super-thick soups, there are a few I will make an exception for – eg potato, leek, and cheese , tomato bisque – and this one. I’ve made it a bit thinner before, and quite apart from the topping sinking (at that time, dehydrated parsnip and beetroot chips), it just wasn’t right. While it’s not quite puréed baby food, a soup like this nevertheless needs to be thicker than usual.
Usual for me, that is. You may prefer all your soups to be baby food-like!
I’ve used roast parsnips before, and to be honest, the flavour pay-off isn’t worth the additional faff. If you’re making a roast dinner anyway, and throw an extra half a kilo of parsnips into the oven to roast at the same time to use for soup, then all well and good but I really wouldn’t bother roasting them otherwise.
Roasted garlic on the other hand, does work well in this gingery parsnip soup… but only if you put it in when blending, not at the beginning, otherwise the flavour will just get lost.
Don’t over-do the cumin – it can be bitter when there’s too much. If you don’t want to use cumin, try 1 teaspoon of ground coriander and ½ teaspoon garam masala (again, put the the garam masala in during blending).
The lime juice is not absolutely essential but it does just lift the flavours – you can leave it out if you want, the soup will still be delicious.
Gingery Parsnip Soup with Spicy Roasted Chickpeas
Is…
- thick ‘n’ hearty
- warming ‘n’ comforting
- packed with protein
- full of goodness
- gluten-free
- soy-free
- nut-free
- super-easy to make
- super-yum to eat!
Serve with a hunk of fresh bread (my particular favourite right now is rye sourdough, made by my lovely friend, Ben) and you’ll have a full and happy tummy for hours!
Enjoy!
