it was a dark and stormy day

Not much snow yet but the wind is howling and the temperature is dropping. The sun never came out and I haven't been able to wake up properly today. I can't imagine living in Iqaluit or someplace colder and darker than Winnipeg. It is definitely one of those days to fill your belly with something hot. May I suggest roasted parsnip soup? If you have the ingredients on hand, of course. No sense heading out in this. I don't have the ingredients; I have something better...... leftovers!

This soup seems complicated but it's really not. Roast the veggies, warm broth and cream (I used milk), blend. I found the immersion blender didn't work very effectively so I used a regular blender. And the parsley oil was really pretty but it didn't add much flavour. You can definitely skip it.

Yukon Gold Potato, Parsnip & Roasted Garlic Soup with Parsley Oil

Parsley Oil:

1/2    cup (125 mL) Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2    cup (125 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt

Roasted Garlic:

2    heads of garlic, tops sliced off
Olive oil
Sea salt

Potato & Parsnip Soup:

1    tbsp (15 mL) melted butter
1    tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
2    lbs (1 kg) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
3    parsnips, peeled and cubed
2    onions, peeled, stemmed and quartered
4    cups (1 L) vegetable broth
1/2    cup (125 mL) heavy cream
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Parsley Oil:

Combine parsley leaves with olive oil in a food processor. Process until puréed and bright green. Let steep for about 1 hour then strain oil through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding solids and reserving oil. Season with a little sea salt then transfer oil to a jar with a tight-fitting lid.

Roasted Garlic:

Drizzle garlic heads with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil.

Potato & Parsnip Soup:

Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). In a large bowl, combine butter and olive oil, whisking to mix. Add next 3 ingredients and toss to coat. Place mixture and wrapped garlic in a baking dish; season vegetables with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for about 40 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring the vegetables halfway through the cooking time. Remove baking dish from oven. Place vegetable mixture into a large pot set over low heat along with broth and cream. Using an immersion blender, process until mixture is smooth, adding more broth if soup is too thick. When garlic is cool to the touch, squeeze cloves into soup. Using an immersion blender, process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste; cover and cook until soup is warmed through.

To Assemble:

Spoon soup into bowls then drizzle with Parsley Oil and some fresh cracked pepper. Serve immediately.

Serves 4