So first I need to apologise to my blog, (Ahem, ::clearing throat:::) "Blog, Life of a Turnip, I'm sorry that I've neglected you these past few months, but I promise to spend more time with you from now on."Things have been kinda crazy since October, as life tends to be sometimes, but I will try to pay a little more attention to you from now on.
Ok, now that that's settled, the thing that keeps bringing me back to blogging is whenever I find a great food recipe to share. Last week was a very stressful week with projects, a paper, and exam all in one week (graduation coming up in May!) so of course what do I want when I need some comfort?...my soups...I tend to keep exploring my New England Soup Factory Book, but this one comes from one of the many food blogs I subscribe to and who I look up to maybe one day becoming myself. It comes from Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan who writes a blog titled "the kitchn". She told the story of a girls trip where they made a soup using of course seasonal ingredients. Since we are just into spring, this recipe really interested me using the flavors of winter Parsnips, with Potato and Crab. Using the winter ingredients of Parsnips, and combining them with other ingredients I believed was a good soup to try since we are barely into spring. Tweeking the recipe a little myself, it turned out to be one of my greatest soups made so far.
Now is the perfect time to make this soup, so go to your local grocery store today and try it!
Barely Spring Parsnip, Potato and Crab Soup serves 6-8
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 leek, white part mostly with little green, sliced into thin rings (save a little for the roasted topping)
5-6 red potatoes, chopped
5-7 parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons peeled, minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3-5 cups vegetable or chicken stock, enough to cover
1/2 pound cooked lump crab meat (I used a little more cause I love crab)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Chopped Italian parsley, mint, cilantro to garnish with roasted leeks
In a 4-6 quart pot over medium flame, heat 2 Tb. olive oil. When glistening, sweat the onion, leek, potato, parsnips, garlic and ginger with the salt for a few minutes until onions are translucent, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
Add the stock to cover, bring to a boil then lower heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes.
In a roasting pan, add enough leeks mixed with remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper, Roast in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until brownish. Put aside for garnish.
With an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth then add cream and blend again. Add crab and cook another 2-3 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Add more salt if needed and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve warm and garnish with chopped herbs and roasted leeks. Enjoy and welcome spring!
