Photo by Andrea Bemis
The smoky, spicy soup toppers add texture and nutrition to this creamy soup. They combine raw sunflower seeds and pepitas, which you'll toast lightly on the stovetop.Pepitas, common in Latin American dishes, are pumpkin seeds (or seeds from other squash) with the hulls removed. Sometimes they're sold with the hulls intact and, often, roasted and salted. They're medium-dark green and nutrient-dense.
Ingredients
- 1 pound parsnips, scrubbed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large russet potato, scrubbed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 small leek, chopped into 1-inch pieces (Use white and light green parts only.)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Black pepper, freshly cracked
- Parsley, minced, for serving
- Smoky Seed Clusters
- 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup pepitas
- 1-1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons pure cane sugar
Directions
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Toss the parsnips, potato, onion, leek, and garlic in a bowl with the olive oil, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste.
- Spread the vegetables out onto a baking sheet, arranging them in a single layer, and roast for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned.
- Transfer half of the vegetables to a high-speed blender, along with 1 cup water.
- Purée until completely smooth.
- Transfer the puréed soup to a soup pot and purée the rest of the vegetables with 1 more cup of water until smooth. Add purée to the soup pot.
- Stir in 1 more cup of water and keep on low heat.
- After soup is warmed through, taste for seasonings and add more liquid, if desired.
- To make the smoky seed topping, toast the sunflower seeds and pepitas in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan often, until the seeds are golden brown, about 3 minutes.
- Pour the seeds out onto a plate and toss with the paprika, cayenne, and salt.
- Place the pan that previously toasted the seeds back on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the sugar, and after the sugar has liquefied (this won’t take long!), add the seeds, tossing to coat them in the melted sugar. Do this quickly, as you don’t want the sugar to burn.
- Remove from the heat and transfer the seeds to a plate to cool. After they’re cool enough to handle, break the seeds apart into small clusters. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a few tablespoons of the seed clusters and minced parsley.
- Follow these links for more recipes with parsnips and to learn more about growing and cooking with parsnips and pears.
- Spiced Pear Compote Recipe
- Parsnip and Pear Muffins with Rosemary
- Winter Gathering: Parsnips and Pears
