Description
Country harvest root vegetable soup is a creamy, comforting dish made with a medley of root vegetables seasoned with curry powder and thyme. This blended soup offers a rich, velvety texture finished with cream and is perfect for chilly days or as a nutritious starter with warm crusty bread.
Ingredients
Scale
Base
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter (15g)
- 1 onion, chopped into large dice
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 litre (6 cups) water
- 2 tsp cooking salt/kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup thickened cream (heavy cream or regular), plus extra for garnish
Root Vegetables
- 1 large potato (~300g/10oz), peeled, cut into 2.5cm (1″) cubes
- 1 medium sweet potato (350g/12oz), peeled, cut into 2.5cm (1″) cubes
- 2 medium carrots, peeled, cut into 1.5cm (0.5″) pieces
- 1 small/medium parsnip (150g/5oz), peeled, cut into 1.5cm (0.5″) pieces
- 1 small celeriac (600g/1.2 lb), peeled, cut into 1.5cm (0.5″) pieces (~2 heaped cups)
Serving/Garnish (optional)
- Warm crusty bread
- Parsley, finely chopped
- Pinch extra curry powder
- Pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Sauté: Put the olive oil and butter in a large heavy-based pot over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, cook the onion and garlic for 2 minutes until the onion is softened.
- Add and cook vegetables and spices: Add the root vegetables, dried thyme, and curry powder. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly, until the outside of the vegetables starts to soften.
- Simmer: Turn the stove up to high. Add water, salt, and pepper. Stir, then once it comes to a simmer, lower heat to medium-high and simmer rapidly for 15 minutes without a lid until all the vegetables are soft when tested with a knife.
- Add cream and simmer: Stir in the cream and simmer for 1 minute to combine flavors.
- Blend: Remove the pot from heat. Use a stick blender to blitz the soup until smooth. Blend in batches if needed, removing the lid insert and covering the hole with a folded tea towel to avoid splatters.
- Adjust seasoning: Adjust the soup to taste by adding more water to thin, or salt, pepper, and extra cream for a richer texture.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle with extra cream and garnish with a pinch of curry powder, freshly chopped parsley, and black pepper. Serve with warm crusty bread.
Notes
- Use regular grocery store curry powder for a neutral flavor that adds interest without making the soup a curry.
- Herb variations like fresh thyme, dried oregano, Italian mix, or herbes de Provence work well as substitutes for dried thyme.
- For a lighter cream substitute, combine 1/3 cup milk with 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter.
- Feel free to substitute or increase any root vegetables; pumpkin is a versatile replacement. Parsnip and celeriac have strong flavors and can dominate the soup if increased too much.
- Any all-purpose or starchy potato variety works well; Sebago potatoes are recommended.
- Non-root vegetables can be used but will result in a thinner, less creamy soup.
- When blending, do it in batches and use a folded tea towel to avoid splattering due to steam.
- Leftovers keep for up to 4 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.
