Winter Soup Swap

As a native of a tropical country, I am often intimidated by the diversity of root vegetables and squashes that take over the markets in the winter. After living in Vermont and California I have practiced with several of these veggies and have grown to love the bounty of the winter as much as the bounty of summer. Today I experimented with Parsnips, an often overlooked winter root that can be turned into several delicious dishes.

Having been invited to a soup swap, I decided to make Curried Parsnip Soup. For those wondering, the soup swap is the brilliant idea of a dear friend who lives alone and got tired of eating her same pot of soup. The plan is for 4 of us friends to each bring 3 jars of a soup we make, and come home with 3 different jars of a soup each other person has cooked up. Make sense? I love the idea because I too get sick of my gigantic pot of soup, and I also enjoy putting that extra love in my cooking, knowing that not one, but three other households will partake! Without further delay here is my recipe for the Soup Swap:

Curried Parsnip Soup
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 lb Parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves
1Tbsp curry powder
4 cups of water or your choice of broth (homemade beef stock would work well here)
Garnish with bacon, chives if desired

Melt oil over medium heat. Saute parsnips, onion and garlic for about 10 minutes. Mix in curry and saute for another 2 minutes. Gradually add water or broth. Increase heat to medium high, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree or transfer to a blender. Add any garnishes before serving.