Cream of Curried Parsnip Soup & Smoked Bacon Crumb

This soup is the perfect soup for a cold winters day; silky and smooth with a touch of spice.  It’s easy to make and can be ready in less than an hour.  And it tastes even better the next day! With so few ingredients needed, this can be a great way to get rid of any additional parsnips you may have lying around over the festive season.  The smoked bacon crumb is a really tasty and easy to make addition.

Prep time – 10 minutes

Cooking time – 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the parsnip soup:

• 6-7 parsnips, peeled and the ends trimmed
• 100 ml cream
• 1 tsp medium curry powder
• 1 chicken stock cube (or vegetable if you prefer)
• 750 ml water (add more if neccesary)
• drizzle olive oil

For smoked bacon crumb:

• 1 rasher smoked bacon, diced
• 1 slice white bread, crumbed

Serves 4 people

Cooking Instructions

1. Prepare the parsnips

Cut the peeled and trimmed parsnips into even chunks.  Heat a little olive oil in a large saucepan over a low-medium heat and add the parsnip chunks.  Fry for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and making sure the parsnip does not burn as this would taste bitter.  Allow the parsnips to caramelise to bring out their sweetness.  Any bits stuck to the pan will easily come away when the water is added later.

2. Make your soup

Add the curry powder to the parsnips and fry for a minute to cook out the spices.  Add the water and stock cube to the pan and bring to the boil.  Simmer for around 20 minutes until the parsnips are soft and cooked through.  Lower the heat and add the cream and cook for a further minute or so.  Remove the pot from the heat and blend the soup until silky smooth using a hand blender.  Once smooth, add a little seasoning and stir.

3. Make the smoked bacon crumb

Fry the diced, smoked bacon over a medium heat until crisp and golden.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.  In a food processor, blitz the breadcrumbs with the cooled bacon until an even crumb.

4. Serve and enjoy

Pour the soup into a bowl and top with some of the smoked bacon crumb.  Serve with some crusty bread and enjoy.