Vegetarian Cooking: Curried turnip soup recipe

Ingredients For The Curried Turnip Soup Recipe

• 500 g/1 lb small turnips, quartered (see cooks tip)

• salt

• 25 g/1 oz margarine or butter

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 2 teaspoons mild curry powder (see variation)

• 600 ml/ 1 pint vegetable stock

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• juice of ½ lemon

• freshly ground black pepper

• 150 ml ¼ pint sinlge creame

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, to garnish 

How To Cook Curried Turnip Soup

1. Blanch the turnips by plunging them into a large pan of boiling salted water and simmering for 3 minutes. Drain at once. 
2.  Melt the margarine in a large saucepan and add the tuenips with the onion. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes over very gentle heat, shaking the pan occasionally to prevent the vegetables from sticking.
3. Stir in the curry powder, and then pour in the stock. Add the sugar and lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes or until the turnips are soft.
4. Press the turnip and liquid through a sieve, or leave to cool then puree in a blender.
5. Return the turnip puree to the rinsed out pan and heat through thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning then pour immediately into warmed individual soup bowls. Swirl cream into each portion and sprinkle with parsley

Cooking notes

Time- preparation takes 10- 15 minutes, cooking about 20 minutes

Cook’s tips- stage 1 can be omitted for new, summer turnips or winter turnips need to be peeled thickly to remove fibrous matter, and the initial blanching is essential.

Freezing- preparing the soup up to the end of stage 4 (never add the cream before freezing the soup). Cool the soup and freeze in a rigid container for up to 1 month.
To serve: reheat from frozen, gradually bring to the boil, reduce heat, and then add the cream.
Serving ideas – serve with whole meal bread and cheese for a warming, nourishing supper dish
Variation – this soup has a mild curry flavor acceptable to most tastes, but the amount of curry powder may be increased to 3 or even 4 teaspoons.