Creamy Leek and Parsnip Soup
Published Jan. 5, 2021
- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4large leeks, trimmed and cut into ½-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
- 6medium parsnips, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
- 2teaspoons kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 1bay leaf
- 1teaspoon ground turmeric
- 4garlic cloves, minced
- 6cups water, chicken broth or vegetable broth
- Extra-virgin olive oil, crème fraîche or yogurt, for garnish (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
268 calories; 14 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 36 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 666 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Put olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add leeks and parsnips, and stir to coat. Add the 2 teaspoons salt and pepper to taste.
- Step 2
Let vegetables sizzle and cook, stirring frequently until nearly caramelized, but without browning, until softened, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Step 3
Add bay leaf, turmeric and garlic, and stir to coat. Increase heat to high, add water or broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes more. Taste broth and adjust seasoning.
- Step 4
With a blender, purée soup to a creamy consistency. (Small batches work best.) Thin with water or broth, if necessary — it should be like a thin milkshake, not thick and porridge-like.
- Step 5
Reheat the soup before serving. Serve plain, or give each bowl a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil or a dollop of crème fraîche or yogurt, if desired.
Private Notes
Comments
Tasty and easy. Caution on quantity of leeks and parsnips. New York leeks and parsnips may work but West Coast veggies in these numbers would feed 12.
Agree. I'm scaling it to 1 lb of parsnip, peeled and diced, 1 large leek (2" diameter x 8" of usable white and light green), EVOO, i medium onion, 1 large carrot, salt and pepper, and a cup or so of bird stock. Dice all veggies and sweat at very low heat until tender with minimal fond on the pot bottom. This should take 40 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 20 min, then hit it with a boat motor (stick blender) until creamy, maybe adding a bit more EVOO, but not too much. YUM!
This was super easy (and rewarding). I found the parsnips and leeks caramelized a little too well and the soup became too sweet. However, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice fixed that quickly! Also, I used an immersion blender and of course forgot to take out the bay leaves. Rest assured, the soup was still absolutely fine.
This recipe is perfect—high reward for minimal effort. It’s also super easy to substitute or add in other vegetables as well; for example, I’ve swapped Japanese yams for parsnip (to capture the sweetness and starch component) and onion for leek if I have no leeks on hand, and I often add white beans for protein, and sometimes spinach. Basically this recipe has become foundational to the composition of all my puréed vegetable soups!! And I find the proportioning of the ingredients to be a sort of intuitive journey each time. The recipe is delicious when you follow it exactly but it’s also super forgiving/still rewarding for those like me who like to experiment.
Recommend using water rather than broth, as with the 2tsp of salt you used to cook the vegetables, it'll already be quite salty!
This was a rare miss for us from The NY Times. So bland I had to add 5 different spices and quadruple the salt so as to get it to taste like something other than watery nothing.