The slow cooker chef: Delicate parsnip soup spiced with Garam Masala recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Starters and Soups | 27 comments
Parsnips were on sale – 2 for 1 in Tesco’s last week. Great, I thought, I’ll make parsnip soup. The parsnips had knocked about on the larder floor for so long that even Danny had given up asking what I was going to do with them. It was time to make the soup.
When D was secreted in the Rat Room upstairs, I peeled, diced and popped them into the slow cooker with some rich chicken stock, onions and a teaspoon of Garam Masala. I love this light combination of spices, not too overpowering to kill the sweetness of the parsnips. Interesting enough for Danny to examine the tin carefully when he stepped into the kitchen a few hours later.
In fact I had read the pack too. I didn’t realise that Garam Masala can be added at any stage in the cooking process and even used to sprinkle on food at the table. I discovered that Fiddes Payne spices are available from Tesco. Much cheaper than Bart’s, their Garam Masala is a winner. I did buy their Cajun spice mix but gave it away as cumin dominated and I live with a cumin hater. Bart’s win hands down here, Cajun spice with no spice bully in the mix.
I had taken a peek at Delia’s recipe for parsnip and apple soup and it seemed a bit of a palaver although I loved the idea of a topping of parsnip crisps (chips). Danny had never tasted parsnip soup so I wasn’t keen on adding apple. before he has sampled this sweet, delicious soup.
Our parsnip soup is sweet, mildly spicy and easy – making and eating. No spiciness that forces an examination of the trachea and beyond. Low fat too as there’s no need to fry the onions. 4 hours in the slow cooker and a happy smiling face when I got in from work this evening.
The soup is great naked but dressed and titivated with some creme fraiche and chopped parsley it is stunning.
Delicate parsnip soup spiced with Garam Masala recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 kilo of parsnips
- 250g of onions
- 1.5 litres of hot chicken stock (vegetable stock could be used instead)
- 1-2 tsp of Garam Marsala
- salt and ground white pepper to taste
Method:
- Peel and chop the onions
- Peel, top and tail the parsnips and chip into 3cm lengths of similar thickness
- Toss the vegetables into the slow cooker and add the hot stock and the spices
- Cook on auto for 4 hours.
- When the parsnips are soft blend the soup. I used the stick blender
. And season with salt and ground white pepper.
- Serve with creme fraiche and chopped parsley
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I came across your blog when I clicked on a link for somewhere else and have now read the whole of your archive. I love parsnips – especially roasted – but they are sometimes too much on their own in soup, so I usually mix them 50-50 with turnip (or more correctly suede – but then the name of the soup doesn’t work) to make “Nip and Nip soup”. It is known affectionately by my French friend as Nip Nip soup but always goes down a storm. I have no idea where the recipe came from but I know for sure that I cannot claim it as my own invention.
Hi KJ
This soup was great and not too parsnippy with the Garam Marsala a doddle to make.
Hi Sally,
I am so pleased that you are enjoying the site!
Your recipe for the ˜pollo cacciatore™ sounds good. How lovely to have an earthenware slow cooker. The ceramic dish inside mine is white and looks fine on the table too, although the lid is glass it’s quite handy for watching what’s happening.
Thanks for dropping by.
Hi Amanda,
Oh I can’t wait to taste your own Garam Marsala mix! Exciting about the pay it forward gift too. I must finish mine.
Hi Kate(uk)
Our slow cooker is certainly earning its keep. It’s on nearly everyday cooking us something wonderful and saving electricity too. The low setting uses 100 watts of electricity and the high 300 watts.
Hi Kate (USA)
I’d bee really interested to hear what you think of the bread sauce. We also have this with turkey, goose and pheasant.
The soup is very subtle.
Hi Robert
I must try the horseradish twist – the soup is on the menu again today!
Hi Michelle
I don’t know the answer. The tin I bought contains these spices:
Coriander (cilantro)
cloves
cumin
cassia (I™ve never heard of this!)
Allspice
Cardamom
opefully Amanda will drop by and set us straight with her recipe.
Hi Michelle,
In Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni, there are two recipes for Garam Masala, one for sweet dishes that includes nutmeg and one for savoury foods that does not. The second is as follows:
Makes about 9oz/270 grams
3 tablespoons black (about 20), or 2 tablespoons (about 75)green cardamon pods
3 cinnamon sticks (3 inches/7.5 cms long)
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 oz/30 grams black peppercorns
1.5 oz/45 grams cumin seeds
1.5 oz/45 grams coriander seeds
Break open cardamon pods,discarding skin. Remove seeds and reserve. Crush cinnamon with a kitchen mallet or rolling pin to break into small pieces. Combine all the spices and roast and grind them. Store in an airtight container in a cool place.
Hope that helps.
Hi Fiona,
Sounds like a lovely recipe, and I’d love to try it, but I too was stuck on the garam marsala spice mix(I had to look it up too!) I found this mix online, could anyone tell me if it sounds right?
1 tbs cardamom seeds
2″ stick cinnamon
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
Grind in a spice grinder.
Thanks for the help,
Michelle
Yum – spicy parsnip soup! My mother makes a rather good one, and I believe her recipe is somewhat similar to yours.
I have to say, though, that while creme fraiche is good, a dollop of horseradish sauce can be even better!
R.
Fantastic! another recipe to try! I had to look up garam marsala and creme fraiche to see what they were (for a USA equivalent), but now that I know I plan to make the soup this weekend — after the roast chicken and bread sauce! I have a slow cooker (a crock pot) that I use quite often and just love it. It is wonderful to put something in the crock pot in the morning and by meal time have something delicious to eat.
I’m just going to HAVE to look for a slow cooker…there’s only so much temptation I can resist.
I find parsnips delicious- but I can understand why some people dislike them. I went right off them when I was pregnant but took to drinking tea which I loathe. Most peculiar!
Fiona, I love spicy parsnip soup. I’ll send you my garam masala mix, with less or no cumin in it. You can test it out on Danny and let me know what you think. I’ll also include my pay it forward gift which I’ve finally almost finished having not looked at them since before Christmas.
and hello Sally, CS is very addictive!
Dear Folk,
I have become addicted to this site after first stumbling across it when searching for a quince cheese recipe.
I™m also a lover of slow cookers. I was given one as a present years back and, when I was on the 9-5, I would literally throw a tin of tomatoes, a little stock, a bit of seasoning and a couple of cubed chicken breasts into it and come home to what I grandly called ˜pollo cacciatore™. The meal then only lacked rice, potatoes or just some crusty bread to mop up the juices.
Now I use it mainly for entertaining as you can prepare the main dish in advance which removes the stress factor.
I do all sorts of things in it. However, its best virtue is roasts as the meat doesn™t dry out. You can still transfer the roast to the oven later if you want crispy skin and it leaves lovely juices which are perfect for gravy.
In fact, I wish I had two, which led me to another internet search. What a disappointment that turned out to be! They™re all plastic and glass. Mine is a terracotta pot with a terracotta lid and even though it now has a small chip it still looks good when brought to the table. When will the designers learn?
Best wishes to all, Sally
I always find parsnips a bit overpowering on their own. They are just too much for me. I think the garam masala is a great idea. It would add another dimension to the dish.