I got myself into a situation last week — too much sugar, and not enough food. I’m old enough to know better (!) but when I’m on vacation and enjoying special treats with special people, such things happen.
We visited with friends at a lovely café in Stockholm called Vete-Katten (for someone who feels ill after eating gluten and isn’t a huge fan of pets, going into a bakery with “Wheat” and “Cat” in the name is somewhat freaky).
It’s a beautiful old-fashioned-with-a-modern-twist coffee shop and bakery right in the middle of the city.
I was so excited to see budapestrulle on the menu – a meringue and hazlenut treat filled with whipped cream (and gluten free) – that I had to order one. I’m trying to perfect this recipe so it can be posted yet this winter, but it’s a treat I fell in love with it this past summer.
Anyway, to make a short story shorter, I had too much sugar. Got a little shaky. Got a bit of a headache. Needed food. My daughter felt the same way. She wisely got a huge bowl of soup-of-the-day for us to share. It was perfect! Just enough to calm the jitters and get me on the right path again.
The soup was creamy and light, satisfying and comforting, and didn’t leave me feeling like a beached whale. The flavours of parsnips, ginger, and garlic were pronounced, but there was a tantalizing conflict between sweet and heat that I needed to research.
Upon returning home from Sweden, I spent time looking into various soup recipes. Playing with ingredients and proportions brought me to this delicious re-creation of the parsnip and ginger soup at Vete-Katten. The only exception is that I have not perfected the horseradish aioli to be served alongside it. In fact, my attempts have been epic failures.
No worries! My substitute is whipped cream with roasted garlic in it. You read that correctly! Cream isn’t sweet unless you add sugar to it, and roasted garlic smashed up and whipped in with the cream is an incredible addition. Once it “melts” in the soup, just swirl it in for a flavour boost.
Parsnips look like albino carrots.
Some parsnips are coated with wax to seal in moisture. I found that Trader Joes sells wax-free parsnips, which means you don’t have to peel them. Just scrub them lightly. The skin adds yet another level of flavour.
Then there’s ginger. This multi-cultural superstar is used in both sweet and savoury dishes around the world. Bring on the heat!
And . . . . there is my favourite: GARLIC
I usually have a bunch of roasted garlic in the refrigerator, but this time I was in a hurry and “roasted” it in the micro. I simply cut off the tops of 3 large heads of garlic, put them into a small casserole, drizzled with a little olive oil, added 2 tablespoons of water, covered it, and cooked at 50% power for 10 minutes. They were tender enough to squeeze out of the skins like toothpaste. The garlic is milder when cooked this way, but doesn’t have the same texture or smoky taste you can get with true oven roasting. But when you’re short on time, it doesn’t matter!
PrintParsnip and Ginger Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 pound parsnips (peeled if waxed), cut into 1/2″ slices
- 1 head roasted garlic, divided
- 1” piece ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 3 cups stock (vegetable or chicken)
- 3/4 cup half & half
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
Instructions
- In medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter and olive oil
- Sauté onion for 5 minutes, or until tender
- Add sliced ginger and cook for 2 minutes
- Add half of the roasted garlic, cumin, cardamom, and cayenne, then the parsnips, stirring until well coated with spices, cooking for another 2 minutes
- Pour in the broth, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until parsnips are very tender
- Using a stick blender, process until smooth (or allow to cool slightly and pour into a blender)
- If you are super-sensitive to texture, press this through a fine mesh sieve back into the saucepan (I don’t do this)
- (At this point, you can set the soup aside – refrigerate for up to 2 days – if you want to make it ahead. Then just reheat before continuing.)
- Add the half & half, and heat through
- Meanwhile, mash the remaining roasted garlic into a paste, add to cream, and whip it (the stick blender is easiest for this)
- Serve soup with garnish of whipped cream and green onions
