Parsnip and Potato Soup

I am so happy that my son's schedule is starting to get a slight bit more predictable and I am able to cook dinner again!  Usually it ends up being a quick and easy meal that gets made as my husband is putting the baby to bed, and dinner time ends up being 9pm, but we get to eat a home cooked meal, so we're ok with that.

One of my go-to shows to watch during this maternity leave is The Rachael Ray Show (it happens to fall at a time that usually ends up as my son's morning meal time and it keeps me entertained).  While I enjoy watching the show in general, it's also a great place to get meal ideas!  Last week she made a parsnip and potato soup that looked so delicious that I knew I needed to make it as soon as possible.

The soup starts out with bacon, which (obviously) I can't use, so I substituted a little oil and added a little more salt than it would have taken if we used salty bacon.  I didn't feel there was anything missing flavor-wise with these substitutions.  Something else I did that wasn't in the original recipe is that while I blended the soup I left some chunks of potato and parsnip, which my husband agreed was a nice touch.  It added a little more texture to the soup (we always laugh when the judges on Chopped refer to texture in dishes, but it's a very valid point!).

This soup is a perfect dish for a fall evening.

Parsnip and Potato Soup (slightly adapted from Rachael Ray)

Ingredients

2 tbsp cooking oil (I used grape seed oil)

2 tbsp butter

2 large Russet potatoes, 1 1/4 lbs, peeled and diced 

3 to 4 large or 6 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped (3 cups)

1 onion, chopped 

4 cloves garlic, chopped 

Black pepper 

1/8 tsp grated or freshly grated nutmeg 

1 bundle of parsley, tied with string

1 qt Imagine No-Chicken stock or vegetable stock

1/2 pt cream 

Salt

Toasted pumpkin seeds to garnish

Sourdough rolls to serve 

Directions

- Heat a soup pot with the oil over medium-high heat. Add butter to melt.

- Reduce heat a bit, add potatoes and stir to coat.

- Add parsnips, onions, garlic, black pepper, nutmeg and parsley; partially cover and cook to soften 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. (The color of vegetables should be light golden.)

- Remove parsley.

- Purée potatoes and parsnips in batches if necessary in a food processor or blender with stock or just add stock to the soup pot and use an immersion blender, leaving some chunks.
- Stir in cream then season the soup with salt to taste.
- Serve in bowls, garnish with pumpkin seeds, with sourdough rolls on the side for dunking.