Spiced Roast Parsnip & Kumara Soup

The one thing I love about wintery days is soup! I would eat soup with toast twelve months of the year if I could, great comfort food. But somehow when the day is hot and sunny, eating soup is not the way to go.(And no, I'm not a fan of cold soup).
I would not describe the weather in recent weeks as mild, in fact (in Wellington) it has been unusually cold. My thick woolly jumpers have made a rare appearance after being tucked away for many years of living in this 'mild' city.
Based on my previous experience of southern winters, I packed a thick woolly jumper in my suitcase to wear while on a recent trip to my home city. Surprisingly, I found the weather to be mild so said garment stayed in my bag, which only gave me an excuse to purchase a few light extras to wear while I was on holiday. I think I just picked the right week, as a week later the snow was back!
to the soup........
I have a number of perennial soup favourites but I love to try new ingredients with new flavours.
I came across this lovely recipe by Bernadette Hogg in the NZ House and Garden July 2015 edition. I have now made it about six times. I love it. Parsnips are always a winner for me and this is especially nice due to the addition of the Sumac parsnip chip garnish. I also love the flavour of cumin in dishes.
The recipe makes a lot and freezes well. It reminds me (sadly), it would be lovely to be able to grow parsnips in my garden.......

Spiced Roast Parsnip & Kumara Soup
1kg medium parsnips (plus one- two extra for the garnish)
200g red kumara
1 onion - all above chopped into even sized pieces
2 tsp cumin seeds
4 cloves of garlic - skins on
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp green curry paste (which includes shrimps, making this dish not strictly vegetarian)
1.5 litres chicken or vegetable stock
200ml of cream (I left this out as my soup was beautiful and thick without it, garnishing it with drizzled cream is as nice)
Chips
2 medium parsnips
Vegetable oil for frying
1/2 tsp sumac
2 tsp flaky salt

Method
Heat oven to 220C. Line a baking dish with baking paper.
Place parsnips, kumara, onion, cumin seeds and garlic in baking dish.
Add olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Roast until the vegetables are slightly caramelised and tender, about 35 minutes, tossing them once or twice during the cooking.
Meanwhile add a little olive oil to a large saucepan and heat to low/medium heat. Add green curry paste and cook gently, stirring, for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Once vegetables are cooked, pop the garlic from the skins and add to the saucepan along with the other vegetables and stock.
Using a stick blender, blend until smooth.
Bring soup to boil, then lower to a simmer and add cream.

I could eat a plate of these on their own

Serve with Sumac chips
Chips: Use a potato peeler and cut parsnip into long, thin strips.
Deep fry the strips in batches in hot oil until golden.
Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with combined sumac and salt.
The recipe is so inexpensive to make and will be a hit with parsnip lovers!

Parsnip dip

Parsnip might not be everyone's favourite vegetable. But I have always enjoyed eating them. Especially roasted but I love them mashed or mashed with carrots - along with a generous knob of butter and salt and pepper (of course).
Last November I transplanted a large tray of seedlings into my humble garden. Within weeks I had a massive green display of lush parsnip tops - in fact they overtook my garden. Great to see them grow so well but I was a little concerned about the lushness of the greenery - what was happening down below......?
Plan A - this week it was time to see if there was anything worth eating. (I did try this a month or so ago and ended up with a parsnip about the size of child's pencil!).
First step - grab the green bit, next step - pull - I said pull! I wasssss pulling - in fact with such purpose the green bit came out (and I fell back hard on my bottom) and the bit I really wanted, the white parsnip bit - was still firmly in the ground!
At this point (in a sitting position on the path) the man of the house happened along. 'You are not pulling hard enough' - watch he said - like this - pull! and exactly the same thing happened.... point made - but thanks for the demo!
Plan B - a rather serious, really big dig finally got them out! And the reason they were so hard to remove - they had formed into a strange underground triffid shape. Ummm... aren't they supposed to be a simple conical shape he asked!

In spite of their extreme ugliness - after I had finished with them they tasted absolutely wonderful! If you do not like parsnip - really give this a try. 
Kristeen's Parsnip Dip.
Make sure the parsnips are scrubbed well - if fresh from the garden there is no need to peel them.
Toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper, place in a roasting pan and cover tightly with tinfoil.
Bake in a moderate oven. They should done in about 1 hour, test by poking a knife through the tinfoil.

Once cooled a little, place the parsnips and any oil and juices left in the pan into a kitchen whizz, and depending on the amount of parsnips, add about one teaspoon of curry paste and seasoning, test to your taste and add more if necessary.
If a little thick, (and with the parsnips still warm) drizzle a little oil into the mix while the whizz is running, this will ensure a smooth texture and make it easier to serve as a dip. Garnish with a few toasted sesame seeds.
We had our (still slightly warm) dip with a new rice cracker we have come to enjoy. We could have easily ate the whole bowl in one sitting but thought it best to save some to enjoy with drinks another night. I hope you enjoy this simple little dish. It is perfect for my vegetarian and vegan friends.