Cream Of Parsnip Soup With Crisp Fried Pancetta Recipes

Steps:

• Peel parsnips. Shave each parsnip with vegetable peeler, working until you get to its woody core. (Core will be rough instead of smooth) Discard core; place shavings in a large bowl. Melt butter in large saucepan over med heat. Add onion, carrot, and 1 Tbls of salt. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until veggies are soft, about 10 min. Add shaved parsnips and potato, cover and cook until parsnips begin to wilt, about 5 min. Add wine, cover & cook until veggies are quite soft, about 20 min. Add chicken or vegetable broth, water, bay leaf, nutmeg, black pepper and salt to taste. Cover & bring to a simmer. Cook until vegetables are extremely soft, about 20 min. Discard bay leaf. Fill a blender about half full with veggies. Purée on low speed until coarsely ground. Slowly ladle in enough broth to make a smooth purée. Transfer purée to a large bowl and repeat until all is pureed. Adjust seasonings. If parsnips were bitter, you can add up to 1 tsp sugar to balance it. (The soup can be made up to this point 3 days in advance and refrigerated, tightly covered.) Before serving, return soup to the saucepan, pouring it through strainer to remove grainy bits. Simmer briefly over medium-low heat. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolks and whipping cream until smooth. Spoon 1/2 cup of the simmering puree into the cream and egg mixture. Whisk until smooth. Slowly whisk the cream/egg mixture into purée and cook, whisking frequently, until soup has thickened slightly and the texture is silken, about 5 minutes. Do not let soup boil or the egg will curdle. Divide soup among 6 shallow bowls; garnish with crisp-fried pancetta.

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Place the parsnips and carrots into a mixing bowl, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss to coat the vegetables with oil, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread the vegetables evenly over a baking sheet.
• Roast in the preheated oven until the parsnips are tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and celery. Cook and stir until the vegetables have softened and the onion is beginning to turn golden brown, about 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, and stir in the butter, garlic, brown sugar, and the roasted parsnips and carrots. Continue to cook and stir until all of the vegetables are very tender and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.
• Season with the ginger, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper; stir for 1 minute. Pour in the chicken stock, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer gently until all of the vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes.
• Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot.
• Stir in the milk and cream. Return to a simmer over medium-low heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

Steps:

• Lightly peel the parsnips and discard the peels. Shave each parsnip with a vegetable peeler, working all the way around the vegetable until you get to its woody core. You'll know you've reached it because it will be rough instead of smooth and ivory-colored. Discard the core and place the shavings in a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining parsnips; you should have about 4 cups, lightly pressed. Discard the cores and reserve the shavings.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat, add the onion and carrot and 1 tablespoon of salt, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Do not let them scorch.
• Add the shaved parsnips and the potato, cover and continue to cook until the parsnips begin to wilt, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, cover and cook until the vegetables are quite tender, about 20 minutes.
• Add the chicken or vegetable broth, water, the bay leaf, nutmeg, a good grinding of black pepper and salt to taste. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until the vegetables are extremely soft, about 20 minutes. You should be able to crush the potato against the side of the pot.
• Discard the bay leaf. Using a slotted spoon, fill a blender about half full with the vegetables. Purée on low speed until coarsely ground. Then, with the motor running, slowly ladle in enough of the broth from the pot to make a smooth purée. Transfer the purée to a large bowl and repeat, using the remainder of the vegetables and broth (it will take about 3 additions).
• Taste and adjust the seasoning. If the parsnips were bitter, you may need to add up to 1 teaspoon sugar to balance it. (The soup can be made up to this point 3 days in advance and refrigerated, tightly covered.).
• When almost ready to serve, return the soup to the saucepan, pouring it through a strainer to remove any grainy bits. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the whipping cream until they are smooth. When the purée has reached a simmer, spoon 1/2 cup of it into the cream and egg mixture and whisk until smooth. (This tempers the egg yolks, cooking them slightly so they won't curdle as easily when they're added to the saucepan.).
• Slowly whisk the cream and egg mixture into the purée and continue to cook, whisking frequently, until the soup has thickened slightly and the texture is silken, about 5 minutes. Do not let the soup boil or the egg will curdle. This makes about 9 cups of soup.
• Divide the soup among 6 shallow bowls and garnish with the crisp-fried pancetta. Serve immediately.
• CRISP-FRIED PANCETTA.
• Cut the pancetta into thin cross-wise slices (this is most easily done if the pancetta is still well-chilled).
• Heat 1 inch of oil in a medium skillet until it is hot enough to sizzle when a piece of pancetta is dipped into it. Fry the pancetta slices a few at a time until they are crisp, 20 to 30 seconds.
• Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain. Once cooled, the pancetta will stay crisp at room temperature for several hours.

Steps:

• To make the pancetta crumbs (which you can do up to a day ahead), set a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the pancetta and sizzle for 5 mins, turning, until coloured. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs into the pan and continue frying and stirring until browned and crisp. Blitz the mixture in a food processor to fine crumbs. Mix in the thyme and store in an airtight container if making ahead.
• To make the parsnip purée, tip the parsnips into a small saucepan with the milk and some seasoning. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 mins until the parsnips are tender. Purée the mixture in the food processor, then add the butter. Rub through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan, ready to reheat.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Season the scallops and lay them in a circle around the edge of the pan (see step 1). When the last scallop has been added, leave for 1 min until browned. Then, starting with the first scallop, gently turn (step 2). When all the scallops are cooked, transfer to a warm plate and quickly add the lemon juice to your hot pan, scraping the bottom to form a sauce and adding a splash of water if needed.
• Reheat the parsnip purée, then swipe onto 3 plates (step 3). Top with the scallops, pancetta crumbs and juices from the pan. Serve straight away.

Steps:

• Working lightly, peel the parsnips and cut off the bottoms and tops. Continuing to use the vegetable peeler, cut away and save the rest of the parsnip down to its woody core, catching the thin slices in a wide soup pot. The color of the vegetable will change from creamy white to ivory when you get to the core. Discard the cores.
• Add the butter, onion, potato and salt to the parsnip in the soup pot along with one-third to one-half cup of the water. Place the pot over low to medium-low heat, cover it tightly and cook slowly, "sweating" the vegetables until they begin to become tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir from time to time to keep the vegetables from sticking and scorching.
• Add the tarragon and parsley and continue to sweat the vegetables another 5 minutes. Add the remainder of the water, increase the heat to medium and cook uncovered until the vegetables are completely tender, about 15 minutes.
• Remove the tarragon and parsley sprigs and, using a slotted spoon, transfer as much as you can of the solids from the soup pot into a blender. With the lid of the blender removed (cover the top with a paper towel), pulse the blender to chop the vegetables. If necessary, add a little water or cooking broth.
• After the vegetables are chopped, turn the blender on the lowest speed and gradually work your way up to the highest. When you start pureeing the vegetables, they'll jump up the sides but then they'll subside and remain at much the same level no matter the speed of the blender. With the motor running, add the rest of the liquid and any vegetables left over and puree until completely smooth.
• Wipe out the pot to remove any bits of vegetable and then pour the pureed soup back into it. Heat through over low heat and taste and correct the salt.
• Beat the sour cream with a spoon to soften it.
• Divide the soup among 4 warmed soup bowls and dribble in a bit of sour cream in a decorative pattern.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onion until soft but not coloured. Stir in the parsnips, bay leaves, milk and stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently until the parsnip is very soft. Remove the bay leaves and drain off, but reserve, the liquid. Whizz the parsnips in a blender, adding a little of the cooking liquid at a time until smooth. Keep adding liquid until you reach a lovely soup consistency that's not too thick.
• For the parsley purée and cream, blanch the parsley in boiling salted water for 30 secs, then refresh in ice water - this keeps the green colour. Repeat this twice. Bring the double cream to the boil. Squeeze out any water from the parsley, then whizz in a clean blender, slowly adding the hot cream until it's as smooth as you can get it. Cool. Fold a little of the parsley purée through the whipped cream until nice and green. Season and chill. Keep the remaining purée for serving.
• For the garnish, blanch the parsnip cubes in boiling water for 2 mins, then drain. Heat the olive oil in a pan, and fry the cubes until golden. Keep warm.
• To serve, reheat the parsnip soup and season to taste. Place a little of the parsley purée into each of 6 shallow soup bowls, followed by the soup, a spoonful of the parsley whipped cream and some fried parsnip cubes.

Steps:

• Fry bacon until crisp.
• Crumble and set aside.
• Heat oven to 400F.
• Put parsnips on a cookie sheet in a single layer.
• Roast until brown, turning occasionally, 25-30 minutes.
• Melt butter on medium heat.
• Saute onion until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add parsnips.
• Saute 5 minutes.
• Add stock.
• Bring to a boil.
• Boil until parsnips are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Let mixture cool a bit.
• Put in blender in batches and puree until smooth.
• Pour back into pot.
• Stir in the allspice, and salt and pepper, if desired.
• Top with the bacon.