Miranda has challenged me to cook 12 new (to me) vegetarian dishes this year. 6 of them must be vegan, and 6 of them must involve a fake meat of some kind. (Obviously, I could/almost certainly will do something that ticks both boxes.) . I thought I’d write them up as I go, for no particular reason.
Here’s the first. You will need:
- About a kilo of parsnips.
- 2-3 large onions.
- One bulb of garlic.
- Store cupboard ingredients.
Chop the parsnips into roughly one inch chunks. I didn’t bother peeling them. Peel the garlic cloves. Toss them all together in a roasting tin with olive oil, and any extra herbs/spices you fancy. (I used rosemary and thyme, because I had some fresh ones as leftovers, but I think you could vary the spicing on this wildly.) . Bung that in a 180-degree fan oven to roast.
While they’re roasting, finely slice the onions. Throw them in a stockpot/whatever large saucepan you’re making the soup in with olive oil, and a bit of sugar and salt. If you’re like me, throw a star anise in there, too. Cover, leave to sweat on a medium heat. Stir occasionally so they don’t stick.
It’ll take about 20-30 mins to roast the parsnips. Depending on how fast you sliced the onions, they’ll be done about the same time – you want the onions just to be colouring slightly. Fish out the star anise, then add roasted parsnips and garlic to the onions. Add 1.5 litres of hot veg stock. Leave to simmer for a bit, then blend them all up. If it’s too thick, let it down with more veg stock.
I finished this off with some oat cream, chilli flakes, and a tiny splash of liquid smoke.
Makes enough for 4-6 portions.
