Carrot and Parsnip Soup

C'mon in, I've made you some soup. And not just any soup either - a luscious and healthy root vegetable soup. Doesn't it look delicious? Aw, thanks. Wait, what's that you say? No, no, of course I'm not trying to pawn off more leftovers on you. This soup is entirely fresh! Honest. I mean it.

~blink~

Ok, you caught me crossing my fingers behind my back. This soup is made of leftovers ... but not in the way that you think. In addition to the bounteous remains of the holiday meal, I found myself long, very long, on a variety of raw veggies after Thanksgiving. Parsnips and baby carrots were the chief offenders. I'm not entirely sure why I bought a whole bag of parsnips when I needed just one or two for my turkey. And I had all good intentions of setting out bowls of hummus and dip with baby carrots and assorted crudite late into the evening on Thanksgiving, when we were playing poker. But alas, our bellies were too full and the game was too intense.

Hoping to clear some room in the fridge after Thanksgiving, I whipped up a batch of this comforting soup.

Carrot and Parsnip Soup:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large leek, white and pale green part only, peeled and chopped
• 1 large shallot, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1 stalk of celery, leaves included
• pinch of Kosher salt and a generous grating of fresh black pepper
• 1 full pound of baby carrots, washed and trimmed of any ugly ends
• 4 large parsnips, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces
• two 14.5 ounce cans of non-fat, low-sodium chicken broth
• one 14.5 ounce can of non-fat, low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon good quality curry powder, or more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
• grating of fresh nutmeg
• pinch of cayenne pepper, optional
• pinch of ground white pepper, optional
• a couple of teaspoons of chopped fresh dill
• optional - 1 teaspoon of honey to finish the soup if desired

For garnish:

• some non-fat plain Greek yogurt
• chopped fresh parsley
• chopped fresh dill

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed soup or stock pot over medium-high heat and add the leeks, shallots, onions and celery. Add a pinch of Kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper, stir and saute until the onions are translucent and the vegetable are tender but not yet brown - about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the ground coriander, curry powder, celery salt and cayenne pepper, if using. Stir to combine and saute for 1 minute. Add the carrots, parsnips, chicken broth, vegetable broth and lemon juice. Add a pinch of white pepper, if desired, and a grating of fresh nutmeg. Stir to combine. Raise the heat and bring the soup to the boil. Then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until both the carrots and parsnips are fork tender.

Remove from heat and puree using an immersion blender. (Alternately, the soup can be pureed, in batches, using a food processor or blender. Be careful, its hot!) Return the soup to the heat and re-warm if necessary. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more of whatever you like. If you prefer a sweeter soup, you may add a teaspoon of honey now. If you'd like a bit more acid, another squeeze of lemon should do the trick. Stir to combine.

To serve: ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a dollop of non-fat Greek yogurt and a dusting of fresh parsley and dill.

As written, this recipe will yield 6 servings.

Why, yes, it does bear a striking resemblance to my Cream-Free Creamy Carrot Soup ... they're cousins.

Bon appetit!