Creamy Parsnip Soup: Embrace This Nutritious Root Vegetable (2024)

FAQs

What root vegetable is related to parsnip? ›

Parsnips are root vegetables closely related to carrots and parsley, all of which belong to the Apiaceae family.

Acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Helps regulate blood pressure. As a source of vitamin C, parsnips are an immune-defence, helping to fight off infection. May increase levels of serotonin, the brain's feel-good chemical.

Carrots are the closest relative to parsnips and can be used as a direct substitute due to their shape and size. They lend a similar sweetness but may require slightly less cooking time. White carrots closely mimic parsnips in both appearance and texture, making them another excellent alternative.

close relative of the carrot and looks similar in both the root and shoot. The parsnip easily adapts to a variety of growing conditions.

Remember, once you peel them, you'd have to cook them–or the parsnips will start to discolour. If you're cooking with old, large parsnips, you should also discard any very fibrous centres that you find, as those might be bitter and unpleasant to eat.

Parsnips have received favor as a substitution for potatoes, which is higher in sugar and carbohydrates. But you don't have to be counting your carbs to enjoy parsnips! They are a flavorful addition to any meal and worthy of being an attention-grabbing vegetable.

Root vegetables are still fresh whole foods that contain many vitamins and minerals. Eating a variety of them is good for your health. Fung says that, if you're healthy, you can probably eat one serving of root vegetables every day.

I recommend peeling parsnips before adding them to recipes like this parsnip soup. If you don't peel them, you'll likely be adding a bitter taste to the soup. Why is my parsnip soup bitter? If you leave the peels on the parsnip, it can cause your soup to taste bitter.

Add flour or cornflour

Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.

Why are parsnips so much more expensive than carrots? ›

Though they may seem pricey at $2.99 a pound, Tomizza says the seeds are much more expensive than carrots, they're more expensive to grow, harvest and pack and workers have to cut off the leafy tops by hand.

The parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is a root vegetable closely related to carrot and parsley, all belonging to the flowering plant family Apiaceae.

At first glance it looks like a parsnip, but it is less bulbous at the top, has a whiter skin, and horizontal striations down the root confirm it to be parsley root. It can be used as a less cloyingly sweet parsnip.

In appearance, it looks and smells quite like cultivated parsnip (in point of fact, wild parsnip is part of the Apiaceae (or Umbelliferae) family which includes carrots, celery, parsley, parsnip, Angelica, and Queen Anne's Lace, most of which are aromatic plants with hollow stems).

Rutabagas are rounded, and parsnips are long and slender. Rutabaga can be substituted for potatoes, and parsnip can be used in place of carrots. (A stew with these two makes a beautiful and delicious combination.)