Description
A hearty and flavorful country harvest root vegetable soup combining a medley of root vegetables with warming curry and thyme, blended to a creamy smoothness and finished with rich cream. Perfect served with warm crusty bread for a comforting meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Fats & Oils
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp (15g) unsalted butter
Vegetables
- 1 onion, chopped into large dice
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 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)
Spices & Herbs
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
- Pinch extra curry powder (for garnish)
- Pinch black pepper (for garnish)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Liquids & Dairy
- 1 1/2 litre (6 cups) water
- 1/2 cup thickened cream (heavy cream or regular), plus extra for garnish
Seasonings
- 2 tsp cooking salt/kosher salt (halve for table salt)
To Serve
- Warm crusty bread
- Parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Sauté: Heat the olive oil and butter in a large heavy-based pot over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the chopped onion and garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes until the onion softens, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
- Add root vegetables and spices: Add the potatoes, sweet potato, carrots, parsnip, celeriac, dried thyme, and curry powder to the pot. Stir regularly and cook for about 3 minutes until the vegetables start to soften slightly and become fragrant.
- Simmer: Increase the heat to high and pour in the water. Add salt and black pepper. Stir well, and when the liquid reaches a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-high. Let it simmer rapidly and uncovered for 15 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife.
- Add cream and simmer briefly: Stir in the thickened cream, then let the soup simmer for an additional 1 minute to incorporate the cream evenly.
- Blend the soup: Remove the pot from the heat. Using a stick blender, blitz the soup until completely smooth. If the soup is too thick, add a little water to reach desired consistency. Season with additional salt, pepper, and cream to taste.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with extra cream, and sprinkle with a pinch of curry powder, chopped parsley, and black pepper. Serve hot alongside warm crusty bread.
Notes
- Use any good quality curry powder, such as Clive, for best flavor.
- Dried thyme adds an earthy depth, but fresh thyme can also be used if preferred.
- Heavy cream adds richness, but regular thickened cream works well too.
- Adjust salt depending on the type of salt used; kosher salt is less dense than table salt.
- A stick blender works best for blending this soup smoothly, but a regular blender can also be used in batches.
- To make the soup thinner, simply add more water after blending and adjust seasoning accordingly.
