Roasted Sweet Potato and Parsnip Soup
I am not a vegan by any stretch of even the most delusional lunatic’s imagination. It’s difficult to admit it to you guys, but I covet all things animal. However, it would be unfair to describe me as an ‘average meat eater’ – meat finds its sordid way onto my menu once, maybe twice, per week. After all, meat can be both healthy and expensive; my diet naturally contains a good proportion of vegan and vegetarian food. It seems to me amongst the various communities of meat eaters there is a lot of negativity directed towards veganism. Though it is often true that I don’t entirely agree or understand why people ‘turn’ vegan, you won’t encounter any such negativity here. I’m perfectly cognisant of the fact vegan food can taste just as good as that which contains meat or dairy, sometimes more so. Indeed, I feel privileged to be, for the first time, part of the Virtual Vegan Potluck.
Traditionally, parsnip is a vegetable the male members of my family struggle to get along with – my dad certainly won’t eat them. Put a roast parsnip in front of me and you’ll be more likely to encounter a torrent of abuse than a gastronomically fuelled embrace. However, when incorporated into soup, my opinion of the humble parsnip changes entirely – they are no longer an odd tasting root-vegetable; they become something far sweeter with a considerable depth of flavour. It is for this reason that I paired them with sweet potatoes, a combination that seemed to work exceedingly well. The addition of freshly chopped chives then had the privilege of taking this soup to the next level, providing the freshness root-vegetable soups often require.
So, there you have it – my first VVP post and hopefully not my last! I hope everything was to everyone’s satisfaction, perhaps this experience will provide even great impetus to create more vegan delights. Thank you to Somer for successfully convincing me that this was a good idea. Do enjoy the next link in the chain that makes up the Virtual Vegan Potluck!
P.S. I’m so sorry for the fact I’ve managed to post two sweet potato recipes in a row – silly Frugal!
Roasted Sweet Potato and Parsnip Soup
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 parsnips, peeled and diced
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 litre vegetable stock or bouillon
• A handful of fresh chives, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
Method:
1. Prepare your ingredients and pop them on a baking tray with a good drizzle of olive oil, a generous pinch of salt and a hefty twist of black pepper. Pop in the oven and bake until brown.
2. Set the roasted vegetables aside and heat a little oil in a saucepan. Squeeze the innards of the roasted garlic cloves into the oil and fry gently for 2 minutes. Tip in the rest of the veg and add 800ml of the stock. Depending on your personal taste you may like to add the remaining 200ml, or even more, but that’s up to you.
3. Blend the soup using either a food processor or hand blender. Season to taste and serve immediately with fresh chives and a hunk of bread.
Cost: True vegan food does tend to be exceedingly cheap and it’s simple to see why – it’s hard for it to contain anything particularly expensive. Of course, a knob of butter would have gone down well, but I thought I’d remain entirely within the spirit of things. This soup should set one back no more than £1.80 – bargain!
So, who came before and who came after? Well, click on these images below to find out!
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Overall Score
Reader Rating: 1 Votes
LOVE IT!!!!!!! You make it exactly the way we do at home!
Isn’t the greatest? I love this soup.
Your pics make it look so inviting today … yummmm
Really?! that’s funny. it’s divine isn’t it?
it’s my favourite!
It’s up there at the top for me 😀
oh my goodness, YUM!
Thanks! It was VERY yum.
Looking good there Frugal 🙂 I was wondering what you were plotting…..
Thanks, Sarah! Yours too!
Looks like a lot of us went for a sweet potato soup! 🙂
Indeed! It’s just so delicious!
Frugal, literally grinning throughout! This soup totally shines. And I for one adore the humble parsnip, but you’ve made it even better by combining it with the sweet potato and roasting them both. Incredible. So glad you came to the party, it wouldn’t have been the same without this! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Awesome, Somer! So glad :D. The roasted garlic is what actually makes the dish sing. I’ll be back 😀
Roasted garlic takes so many dishes to the next level! So glad you’ll be back, I’m going to be picking your brain about how to make it even better!
I’m glad you value my opinion 🙂
Yum! I love any pureed sweet soup, but I sure have a thing for parsnips. I am so glad you joined us.
Oh me too 😀 – I just had to :D… Somer twisted my arm 😀
Love love sweet potato soup. I make a killer one with fresh rosemary. Yours looks divine!! Just divine! Glad to see all these VVP posts!
Fantastic! Me too, it’s so flavoursome. It’s great to have been part of the VVP.
No apologies required, we love sweet potato. We also love parsnip. Will put this on next weeks menu…. NOM!
Oh good :D. If you make it, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did 🙂
Fab, it’s food shop day today and I’m now going to get some sweet potato and parsnips.
Fantastic – I hope that you did 🙂
Roasting these 2 awesome root veggies totally make this soup unique! I mast make this recipe, thank you so much for sharing it!
I like to think so 🙂 – I hope you enjoy it.
This soup looks delicious. I love your roasted veggie shot.
Thanks so much! Me too, I love that tray 😀
Delicious and creamy looking soup!
Thanks! It was lovely – no cream though, of course.
Oh, yummy! Your recipe shows that eating vegan is not so foreign or strange after all!
Exactly – it really shouldn’t be for anyone!
This looks really great! We are also not Vegans…or Vegetarians for that matter. But we have several friends that are. So I am always on the look-out for great recipes that we can make when we have them over! 🙂
Kenley
Thanks! That’s great, it’s always nice to be able to accommodate others!
Your pictures are fantastic! You have the best lighting. Everything always looks amazingly delicious. I wish my husband put as much effort into his nights cooking dinner as you do! Wow.
Thanks so much 🙂 Haha – don’t let him see that!
Have been directed to your site by PoppyTump who said it was a great blog with wonderful photos, I’m not disappointed and now you have another follower.
Fantastic! thanks to her!
Gorgoeus looking soup, I’m not a parsnip fan generally either and have a hard time not putting sweet potato in everything at the moment, so don’t apologise! By the way is it just my sick mind or had you noticed the Virtually Vegan Pot Luck V VPL connection too? Nope just me then sorry, made me laugh anyway!! ;D
Sweet potato is a little too good :D. I had not I’m afraid 😀
I had to google VVPL, it stands for very visible panty line! Silly Natalie
Ah, well I am definitely in possession of one of those.
You can never have too many sweet potato recipes. Thanks from me and other vegetarians!
You’ll be pleased to hear that I am in complete and utter agreement on the matter.
Yum.
What a concise and accurate comment!
I love anything sweet potato and this soup looks delish!
Me too! thanks 🙂
Thanks for this delicious contribution, Nick, and we’re very glad to have you at the Potluck this time around. Next one coming up in the spring…hope to see you there.
No problem, of course! I’m sure I’ll drag myself to it. 😀
Happy VVP Day!
You too 😀
beautiful photos!
thanks, Shelly!
ROTFL! Somer isn’t going to like being called a “delusional lunatic” you know! ;). I went vegan because I didn’t want to spend the rest of my gluttonous life weighing 250lb. I worked out that portion size was my killer and I wasn’t fussy about what I ate, just how much, so I went vegan (way back 20 years ago!), lost a lot of weight and STILL got to eat as much as I like whilst gaining health and an entirely new life 🙂 I learned along the way that vegan food isn’t tasteless lentil filled chew fests. I presented our Diploma of Landscape Design lecturer with a vegan chocolate cake at our last meeting and over morning tea and excellent coffee he pronounced it “the best bloody chocolate cake that I have ever eaten…” and almost fell off his chair when I told him that it was vegan…he decided to take the rest of it home with him to share with his family and amaze them. Vegan aint taste free any more folks! For whatever reason people decide to go vegan (and there are many…) there is an excellent community of us out here all sharing amazing recipes with anyone who cares and this is one such amazing recipe. Try using parsnips in cakes as well…amazing peppery sweet little muffins…em! Cheers for this vegan potluck recipe and when I am next in town I am going to the green grocers to pick up some parsnips to get my parsnipy soup groove on 🙂
Frugal could call me any number of names right now and still be in my good books, but I don’t think he called me a “delusional lunatic” 😉
😉
Haha – ratbag. I definitely didn’t 😀
🙂 🙂 🙂
Haha, totally wasn’t aimed at her :D. Ah, well you see, I’m not quite that heavy, so I’ll stick to the meat :D. I have cut it out quite a lot though and it does help! Great story about the chocolate cake – it certainly proves a thing or two to the doubters! I’m glad it has inspired you.
As mentioned, people go vegan for a myriad of reasons. Steve eats meat and we kill our own chooks (roosters) and he eats them. I just remember that scientific study about men eating soup a day a week living longer than men who don’t and think that there has to be something in it :). I know that your comment wasn’t aimed at her and I know that the girls are chipping away at you and I consider myself duly chastened but my sense of humour tends to the Australian and we are a sardonic bunch 😉
Indeed they do. Haha, it seems that you are :D. Don’t worry, I enjoy it :D. i’ll have to make sure I eat soup at least once a week, I have been sticking to it 😀
Soup is delicious, nutritious and frugal and is something that we ate a lot as children. Mum used to make bone stock and we all loved the resulting soups that she made. We have learned to make some amazing vegan soup and Steve is the soup maestro. We call him “The Soup Dragon” 😉
It is indeed! That’s why I love it so. My local butcher does free stock bones so I’ll be taking advantage of that!
I can’t justify the use of the bones from the butchers for stock with 2 sets of enormous brown eyes watching me from medium dog height waiting for the spoils…oh well…at least someone likes the bones 😉
Haha, that’s fair enough – so long as someone benefits!
By the way…vegans got buttah!… http://jlgoesvegan.com/homemade-vegan-butter-you-knew-i-had-to-try-it/
I’m afraid my stance on the matter is: if it ain’t vegan, don’t force it to be so. 😀
I agree with you BUT the flavour and melting consistency of butter is what vegans want. Who wants to eat something that tastes like chemicals? Not me! 😉
I guess so! You see, I’d just use butter 😀
yeh…so did I…BUT I used butter to excess and had the hips to prove it! Needs must and all that 😉
Haha – I don’t use it that often, I’m not allowed.
Just making my way through the VVP & wanted to say hey 🙂
Hey! Thanks 😀
You don’t have to apologize. I’ll have sweet potatoes any day. 🙂
I know, but I felt I should :D.
Funny thing. I went forward to your post only semi paying attention and my eyes went straight to the photo. Mmmm. That looks good. What a great photo! Looks like frugal feedings masterful eye…. hey wait! It is!
Haha – that’s the idea :D. What a lovely compliment. I’m glad I have a distinctive style.
Looks wonderful Nick! Loving all of the seasonality on your blog these days – just gorgeous! 🙂
Thanks, Shira! I can’t help but indulge in a little seasonality!
Parsnips are not my favorite vegetables, but I never tried to roast them, so you really got me curious about this soup 🙂
It’s good to see you entered on the VVP too!
Yes, give it a go – they’re not mine either. I couldn’t resist the VVP 😀
I’ve never had a parsnip I don’t think, but this soup looks so amazing, I might have to buy some and make it!
Please do, parsnip is a great soup ingredient.
Absolutely LOVE the colors!
Hehe thanks. They certainly brightened up my day.
This looks absolutely perfect for fall, and anything with parsnips sounds good to me! Thanks for checking out my food blog at fleurdeselsf.com. Happy cooking!
Thanks so much 🙂 No problem! You too.
The roasted veggies before being made into soup looks great, but I am sure the soup is just jumping with flavor!
Thanks! I love that tray :D.
This is very nice; I need to try it.Your feelings on vegan/animal foods sounds like me.
I ‘discovered’ roasted root vegetables last year and have a recipe,
(featuring sweet potatoes and parsnips) for them en crout on my blog;(September Archives).
fantastic! I honestly believe my approach is the best :d. I shall check it out 🙂
I have never eaten sweet potato soup. After seeing this delicious recipe, I have been missing out on so much! Your recipe with the parsnips is amazing! Roasted sweet potatoes = yummy!
Oh you must! I have a couple of them on my blog actually.
I think most people go vegan because they don’t want to support the torture of animals during farming and slaughter, not sure why that is hard to understand.
This soup looks delicious and amazing! Nice to meet you at the potluck!
Well, I take exception to your comment that the animals I eat are tortured… If meat is well sourced there are fairly stringent rules dictating methods behind the farming and slaughter of animals. I think that it’s very dangerous to generalise the treatment of animals across the board. In my experience, rather a lot of farmers genuinely adore and care for the animals they keep, but manage to maintain the distinction between pet and farmed animal. Also, if that is the case, then why don’t people simply give up unethically sourced meat. For instance, according to that line of thought keeping your own chickens and taking their eggs should be fine; in the case of my chickens they had a very good life. If an animal hasn’t been mistreated and has had a genuinely good life, what then is the argument? Also, if someone wants to explain to me the idea behind why vegans can’t eat honey, I’d be very appreciative.
In any case, I’m glad you like the look of my soup.
I’m sure there may be some places which treat animals nicely, but how can I know that without going out to look at all the farms and slaughterhouses? I can’t, so to be sure that I’m not supporting animal cruelty I just don’t buy any of it.
I’m sure your chickens are very happy and fine. However, because the demand for hens is high (both from farmers and people who wish to keep their own chickens), millions of male baby chicks are killed in a high speed grinder because they are deemed to be of no use to the egg industry. I personally don’t support this.
This is why vegans don’t eat honey: http://www.peta.org/issues/Animals-Used-for-Food/honey-from-factory-farmed-bees.aspx
Read legislation and ask the butcher where the meat comes from – not everyone is lying to you. I think it’s a little unfair to base your knowledge in videos or articles designed to aggravate – it’s simply propaganda.
Why not purchase your chicks from a reputed supplier of free range chicks – one that definitely wouldn’t cause them any harm. I don’t understand the argument that by using meat produce in any way, be it maltreated or cared for, supports the negative side of the meat industry. It simply doesn’t. There are places where you can pick up ex-battery hens that still produce good eggs – surely that’s actually beneficial to the animal?
The same goes for honey.
I’m not saying that purchasing any meats supports the negative side of the meat industry, I’m just saying that without knowing what conditions animals have been kept in and slaughtered in I wouldn’t be comfortable purchasing any meat. You can talk to your butcher, but I’m pretty sure he wants to sell me his meat, so I’m not sure if his idea of treating animals humanely is the same idea as mine. Many people thing it’s fine to give cows electric shocks in the slaughterhouse, I personally don’t.
As for purchasing free range chicks, that makes no difference to the fact that the male chicks get killed because there is no demand for them. It’s great that you can buy ex battery hens, although sad that people would only want them if they “still produce good eggs”.
I’m not really sure why you “take exception” to my views and my eating choices. I’m not trying to influence yours, I’m just telling you my point of view because you asked.