I love soup, but living in sunny Southern California I just don’t think about making it very frequently – most of the year it seems silly to crank up the AC so I can spend hours in a steamy kitchen simmering pots of stock and soup. Yeah, I know, rough life, woe is me. But it’s as wintry here now as it’s likely to get, and my East Coast blood has thinned out enough that I actually feel chilly when the mercury dips below 60 degrees, so soup’s on! I’ve been making this one for years, and everyone I feed it to begs me for the recipe. I’m pretty sure it’s because carrots and parsnips are a match made in root vegetable heaven. (I feel like that’s an oxymoron since they grow underground, but whatever, let’s not overthink it.) They’re both earthy and sweet, and parsnips have a bit of warmth and spice to their flavor that I absolutely adore. Add some ground spices, fresh herbs, and lemon juice to the mix, and you’ve got yourself a bowl of bliss.
In addition to being freaking delicious, this soup is a cinch to make. Some peeling and chopping, a brief sauté, and then you let time and heat do the rest of the work. I do like to make my own vegetable stock first which obviously adds to the labor, but you absolutely don’t have to; a quality store-bought variety is fine, just make sure it’s low sodium so your soup doesn’t turn into a salt bomb.
Okay, ready to make your new favorite soup? Prep all your veg first, and measure out the spices.
Get your oil going in a large pot, and add the onion, garlic, leek, celery, and spices, along with a generous pinch of salt.
We’re looking to accomplish two things here: bloom the spices by frying them in the oil to release their aromatic compounds, and sweat out some of the moisture from the alliums and celery so they can cook down and tenderize. Let it go for about 5 minutes, stirring every so often.
Once the onion is translucent and the leek is wilted as it is in this photo, add the carrots and parsnips along with a teaspoon of salt.
Notice that I didn’t cut my carrots and parsnips into perfectly uniform dice since it’s all getting pureed later, but you do want the pieces to be relatively comparable in size so they cook at the same rate. Give everything a stir, cover the pot partially with a lid, and cook for 10 minutes until the carrots and parsnips soften a little and release some of their moisture. Be sure to stay nearby and stir every couple of minutes to redistribute everything and prevent sticking.
See how the pieces are shrinking and that moisture is evaporating into steam? That’s a nice sweat, so I’m going to add the stock and herbs at this point.
I typically don’t bother with cheesecloth for this – I simply tie my herbs together using a piece of twine. If you’re out of twine and cheesecloth, let the herbs float freely in the pot and just fish them out at the end.
Once everyone in the pool, crank up the heat to bring it to a boil, then cover with a lid and reduce the heat to maintain a light simmer. Let the soup cook for about 25 minutes or until the carrots and parsnips are super tender. You can give it a stir every so often, but it’s not an absolute necessity. When those vegetables are practically melting into the soup, turn off the heat and discard the herbs. If you have a good immersion blender, use it to blend the soup to a silky puree. No immersion blender? No problem. Ladle the soup into a standing blender and process it that way. Just be sure to fill the container no more than halfway, and hold the lid in place with a kitchen towel while it’s blending to prevent it from popping off from the pressure of steam buildup.
Now that your soup is silky smooth, stir in a tablespoon of lemon juice and have a taste. Add more lemon just until you can taste a hint of it. Season the soup with as much freshly ground white pepper as your heart desires, and another pinch of salt if you think it needs it. Ladle the soup into bowls, swirl in a dollop of yogurt, and sprinkle on some chopped fresh herbs and crunchy toasted sunflower seeds. Enjoy!
- 15 ml (1 Tbsp) extra virgin olive oil or butter
- 1 medium onion (8 oz), cut into ¼ inch dice/pieces
- 1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped
- 1 leek, white and light green part only, halved lengthwise, cleaned and sliced into thin rounds
- 2 ribs celery, cut into ¼ inch dice/pieces
- 1½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 ½ lbs carrots, peeled and cut into ¼ inch dice/pieces
- 1 lb parsnips, peeled, quartered, and cut into ¼ inch dice/pieces
- 2 qts low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
- One bay leaf
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme, washed and dried
- 3 sprigs fresh parsley, washed and dried
- 1 large sprig fresh tarragon, washed and dried
- Freshly ground white pepper to taste
- 2-3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- For Serving:
- 4 oz (½ cup) plain yogurt or dairy-free alternative
- 2 Tbsp chopped carrot greens, parsley, or tarragon
- 2 Tbsp toasted sunflower seeds
- Heat olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until just beginning to shimmer. Add onion, garlic, leek, celery, coriander, cumin, ginger, and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until vegetables release some of their liquid and onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add carrots, parsnips, and one teaspoon salt. Cover partially and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables soften.
- Add stock to pot. Tie up bay leaf and other herbs in cheesecloth (or just secure together tightly with kitchen twine) and add to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 25 minutes or until all vegetables are very tender. Remove and discard tied herbs.
- Using an immersion blender, blend soup until creamy and completely smooth. Stir in 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and taste for seasoning. Adjust salt, add more freshly ground white pepper to taste, and remaining lemon juice if desired. Reheat to desired serving temperature.
- Ladle into bowls; garnish each serving with a swirl of yogurt and a sprinkling of herbs and toasted seeds.
This is as exquisite cold as it is hot. Thank you so much!!!
Thank you Audrey! I’m so glad you enjoyed it 💛