Parsnip – pea soup
The cashew nuts in this recipe are actually a tasty replacement of the traditional potato that one would add to give substance to the soup. When pre-soaked, the cashew nuts become very soft and, after cooking, will blend perfectly smoothly with the soup.
Ingredients
- 100 g cashew nuts, soaked in water for at least 3 hours
- 200 g parsnips, prepared and chopped
- 450 g peas (fresh or frozen)
- 1 shallot (or onion), peeled and chopped
- handful of fresh mint leaves (optional)
- 800 ml vegetable (or chicken) stock
- 300 g Greek yogurt
- rapeseed oil
- spritz of lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Drain the soaked cashew nuts and chop coarsely. In a saucepan, heat the oil, add the onion and sweat for a few minutes. Add cashew nuts and parsnip, cook over moderate heat for a few minutes. Add vegetable (or chicken) stock, mint leaves (if used) and bring to the boil. Add peas (add frozen, if using frozen peas). Bring back to the boil, reduce heat slightly and simmer for 20 minutes (until parsnip pieces are very soft). Remove from the heat and blend to a smooth consistency, pass through a fine-meshed sieve, adjust thickness as preferred and season to taste with salt, pepper and a (small) spritz of lemon juice. To serve, add a generous dollop of Greek yogurt to each soup portion.
Variations
If spicy food is not a problem, flavour the yogurt with grated horseradish; a good taste combination with this soup.