Parsley, Parsnip and Potato Soup

This soup came out of an abundance of parsley in my garden two years ago. I had harvested a bunch of parsley and wanted to do something other than tabouli with it. I kept thinking of soup and knew I had something when I saw my parsnips had done pretty well too. I am a big parsnip fan. I love that they are a unique vegetable that you don't see as often as carrots and plus they have that earthy sweetness going for them.

My mouth was watering just from peeling the parsnips and smelling how sweet they were. Yes, I know it is kinda crazy to get this excited over vegetables, but I can't help myself.

I used onion, garlic, carrot and celery for an aromatic base and let the main ingredients shine; treating the parsley like I would a green. Then I blended half of the soup for a rich, thick, and creamy mouthfeel.  This soup is definitely for parsley lovers, as it is filled with green parsley goodness. So good that one bowl has 5 grams of fiber, 52% of vitamin A, and 66% of vitamin C. You can definitely feel good about that.

Parsley, Parsnip, and Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp vegan margarine
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
3 small russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 parsnips, peeled and diced
4 cups water
1/2 tsp marjoram
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
6 whole peppercorns (or just add crushed black pepper)
1/4 tsp tarragon
1 tsp salt

Directions:

Heat the oil and margarine in a soup pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and let them soften. Stir them frequently and add the carrots when the onion has started to turn opaque and a few edges are starting to brown. Next up is the celery. I even add some of the celery leaves if they are still attached. I figure, why not? They have a lot of flavor in them.

I never worry too much about the timing with soup. As long as you don't let it burn ... you are good. Just keep stirring every now and then while you prep the next ingredient.

While the onion, garlic, carrot, celery mix is heating through, peel and dice the potatoes and parsnips and add them to the pan. Then in goes the 4 cups of water, the marjoram, the tarragon and the black pepper. Let the soup come to a slow boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Now is the time to get to work on the parsley. Wash the parsley and then pinch each leaf from the stem. Just think if it as a meditative practice as you pinch pinch pinch....until you have a cup of fresh parsley leaves.

Add the parsley to the soup and let it cook a few minutes more, about 5-10 so the parsley softens. When the soup is about done, add the salt. Finally, remove half of the soup and put it in a blender. Puree half of the soup and add it back into the pan which gives you a creamy broth and some vegetables to chew on. The broth is green, but who cares - they say the more color the healthier your food and I am embracing that here!

I like to do the nutritional analysis to see how my recipes rate. I don't worry about calories so much, instead I like to see how food rates nutritionally. I was excited to see this soup was very good for you.

Makes 6 servings
nutritional info from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 323 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 117 Calories from Fat 15

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 1.7g 3%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 424mg 18%

Total Carbohydrates 24.1g 8%

Dietary Fiber 5.1g 20%

Sugars 4.1g

Protein 2.5g

Vitamin A 52% • Vitamin C 66% Calcium 5% • Iron 8%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet