Cauliflower & Parsnip Soup with Prosciutto & Garlic Breadcrumbs
I love soups because they are comforting when the weather is cold. I love them because if you have no idea what to cook you can basically turn any vegetable into a tasty soup in pretty much 30mins. When you are sick you eat soup to feel better. Soup is the perfect excuse to have that extra slice of sourdough.
Apparently soup dates back to 20.000BC when the first waterproof containers were invented. Isn’t this fascinating? I would be so curious to see how that was made. I imagine it like a foggy broth with some sort of acorns (that’s just me guessing) and no salt or any of the things that make modern meals tasty. If I could go back in time I would definitely do it just to be able to peek into pots and pans around different centuries or in this case millennia.
This modern 2020 soup is made of cauliflower and parsnips and topped with crunchy prosciutto and home made breadcrumbs with garlic and thyme. If you are veggie or vegan just exclude the prosciutto the breadcrumbs are perfectly capable of elevating this dish to a higher level.
In soup we trust.
Ingredients
1 Cauliflower
4 Parsnips (roughly 350g)
1 Onion
1 pint of vegetable stock
3 slices of stale sourdough
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of dry thyme
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
4 slices of prosciutto
Step by Step
Peel the parsnips and roughly chop them. Wash and chop the cauliflower
In a pan add in olive oil and thinly sliced onion. Sauté until the onion is soft.
Add in the cauliflower and parsnips and your pint of broth. As soon as it starts boiling cover with a lid and turn the heat down. Let it simmer until the vegetables are very soft (roughly 30min)
Blend the veggies & adjust the seasoning
Blitz the bread into breadcrumbs. Add olive oil in a pan along with crushed garlic, breadcrumbs and thyme. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon until they become crunchy (5 min)
In a separate pan add in your prosciutto thinly sliced and turn the heat up. It will cook in its own fat and become crunchy (5min)
Serve the soup with a drizzle of olive oil and topped with a mix of breadcrumbs and prosciutto
Tips & Cheats
You can control the thickness of your soup easily with the broth. 1 pint normally gives me the perfect consistency: thick enough to coat a spoon but velvety at the same time
If you don’t fancy meat, just get rid of the prosciutto
If you are doing a breadcrumb only version you can add in the pan a handful of grated parmesan to make it more