Ingredients

A knob of butter

1 onion, finely diced

5 parsnips, peeled and diced

salt and pepper

500ml vegetable stock

1 tbsp clear honey

2 bay leaves

2 – 3 tsp turmeric

310g natural yoghurt

Cayenne pepper and ground cumin to taste

Method

1.Melt the butter in a medium sized pan, add the onion and cook gently until soft and transparent – do not allow to brown.

2. Add the parsnips with a little salt and pepper, stir together and cook gently for 4-5 minutes.

3. Add the stock, honey, bay leaves and turmeric and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 25 minutes until the parsnips are soft.

4. Discard the bay leaves, place the cooked parsnips and yoghurt into a blender and blend until smooth.

5. Return the soup to the pan, add the cayenne pepper and cumin to taste and stir well. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve.

Ta-dah! The perfect soup for a cold day – enjoy with some delicious sourdough or crusty bread. Yum!

My beautiful tea towel from Love Fibre

Our lovely friend Fiona made us the most wonderful tea towel for Christmas (it’s obviously going to be making an appearance in lots of my food photos from now on!). Isn’t it amazing? The fabric is hand woven and it’s so gorgeous! You can see more of Fiona’s work on her website – everything is handmade on the Isle of Tiree (click here to see photos we took when we went to stay a few years back!). Thank you, Fiona!

The post Spicy parsnip soup appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

You can roast the squash and carrots ahead of time, and then put the rest together when you need it – it would be a great recipe to try if you’ve got people coming over. As usual, we froze what was left in batches to enjoy another day!

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

1 medium squash, peeled and cut into small cubes

8 carrots, cut into long pieces

2 tbsp olive oil

A handful of sage leaves

4 garlic cloves, peeled

A good dash of balsamic vinegar

1 onion, sliced

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp dried mixed herbs

600ml vegetable stock

A dash of red wine vinegar

Seasoning as required

Method

1. Heat the oven to around 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Place the squash and carrots in a roasting tray along with the olive oil, and then swish the tray about so that the oil coats the veg. Add the sage, garlic cloves (left whole), balsamic vinegar and season with a little salt and a lot of pepper. Roast in the oven until browned and the veg is soft.

2. Heat a little more olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion with the cumin seeds for about 5 minutes or so until the onion starts to soften.

3. Add the tomato puree and cook for a few minutes more before adding the red wine vinegar. Stir well and then add the squash and carrots, along with the garlic and any oil left over from roasting, as well as the mixed herbs.

4. Pour over the stock, making sure that the veg is covered (you can add a little boiling water here if not). Leave to simmer for a while (we think it was about 15-20 minutes!). Use a hand blender to whizz it up to your preferred consistency – we did this once it had cooled a little, but you could do it when it’s hot, but take care!

5. Serve with some crusty bread or focaccia – enjoy!

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