Spicy parnsip soup with crisp bacon and sage

Parsnip is a soup classic – sweetly subtle, it seems to get better with every spoonful. This recipe is a variation on a theme really borrowing flavours from Jamaican cookery to add the spice but with a traditional marriage of sage and bacon as a garnish. Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 tablespoon olive oil – don’t use extra virgin
1 large onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 tsp ground all spice
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground black pepper
Small piece fresh ginger (about the size of champagne cork) grated finely
1lb parsnips
2 pints stock
1/2 pint single cream
salt & pepper to season

Garnish:
4 slices of smoked streaky bacon, chopped into small pieces
A handful of sage leaves
Chopped spring onions

Method:

1. Cook the onions in 1 tablespoon of the oil on a medium heat until soft and light brown. Add all the spices, garlic and ginger heat through until you can really smell the spices – keep stirring though, so nothing burns.

2. Peel and chop the parsnips into small cubes and cook through for 5 minutes or so until the cubes are starting to colour. Then add the stock and cook until the parsnip is soft enough to blend.

3. Meanwhile put the remaining oil in a frying pan and turn up to a medium/high heat – hot, but not smoking. Cook the bacon until just crisp then add the sage leaves. When the sage leaves are crisp (but not burnt!) take the pan off the heat.

4. Check the soup for seasoning then whiz to a slurry with a hand blender, food processor or whatever whizzer you have. Add the cream, check for seasoning then serve into bowls.

5. Whack the heat back up on the garnish, until the oil is sizzling then spoon out a couple of dessertspoons of oil, bacon and sage into the middle of the soup. Serve immediately.