I love coming home on Thursday's. This beautiful bag is waiting for me at my front door from Fresh City Farms.
Some of the goodies in my bag... mini red potatoes, baby bok choy, mushrooms, arugula, garlic and parsnip, all fresh and beautiful. I made a simple soup with the parsnip, added a few of the mini potatoes and lots of garlic. While the soup simmered I thinly sliced some of the parsnip, tossed them in oil and then baked in a hot oven. Dinner is served.
Recipe
For the parsnip chips:
Ingredients:
- 4 parsnip
- olive oil or grapeseed oil
- salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 300 F. Using a very sharp knife or a mandolin, cut thin the parsnip into round thin slices. Make sure the parsnip are very dry, you may want to take out the extra moisture by placing the parsnip slices on some paper towel. When dry, place parsnip in a large bowl and toss with the sunflower oil.
2. Arrange the parsnip in single layers on 1 to 2 baking trays lined with parchment paper. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, turning halfway, until golden and crisp. Sprinkle with sea salt while warm and serve with the soup.
For the soup
Ingredients:
- 3-4 parsnips, diced
- 1-2 carrots, diced
- 2 mini red potatoes, diced
- 2 tsp thyme, (I used lemon thyme from my garden)
- 4 cups vegetable broth plus 2 cups of water
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- splash of white wine
- sea salt and pepper
- fresh chives or any fresh herbs for garnish, (I forgot to add them in the photo).
Directions:
In a large sauce pan, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft.
- Add the parsnips and carrots and thyme and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth, water, a big splash of white wine, salt and pepper and simmer for 20-25 min until everything is tender.
- Take 3/4 of the soup and blend until smooth with a blender and stir back into the remaining soup. If the soup seems a little too thick, add more water and simmer for anothe 5 minutes.
- Check for seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if needed and garnish with fresh chives or any fresh herbs you have.
Toronto has a farm in the city, smack right in Downsview Park, really, you can see Keele Street in the background., Gordy and I toured the farm lead by Fresh City Founder Ran Goe. There is a greenhouse, a fish-fuelled food aquaponics and rows and rows of greens, herbs and veggies. They use certified organic seeds, potting mixes, compost, fertilizers and sustainable methods of farming. I just love that it is local, organic and delivered.