Parsnip and Porcini Soup

Nigel Slater loves parsnips. That’s why his great vegetable gardening and cooking book Tender has quite a few recipes on the subject. Today, I’m not so creative, so I’m simply recreating his Parsnip Porcini Soup.

I pour boiling water over a good handful of dried porcini and let them steep for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, I cut two medium parsnips (peeled) into thick slices, which I sauté in the pan until golden brown. Then off they go into the pot, along with two coarsely chopped onions, a clove of garlic, and a stick of celery. Everything simmers a bit more in a little olive oil, then most of the porcini mushrooms are added, along with the soaking water. I save a few for the chowder. In addition, vegetable broth, a total of about 1.5 liters of liquid. Add a little salt, then simmer the parsnips for about 40 minutes until they are soft.

I puree the soup, add a little more water, it has become too thick. Then comes the chowder: sauté the remaining mushrooms with a little chopped dill a few flaked almonds (Nigel Slater uses parsley and walnut) and grated garlic briefly in butter and put on spelt toast (Nigel Slater uses “interesting bread”), also briefly toasted in the butter. With a bit of trimmings, this looks quite nice in the soup plate.

The soup tastes good, but apparently Nigel Slater has bigger hands than I do. For me, it could have easily been more porcini. Still, a nice dinner on this rainy October day. And as always, the leftovers are frozen for the days with less time.

parsnip and porcino soup, with almond flakes and dill