Potato Parsnip Cabbage Soup

A few weeks ago I had a carrot overload going on in my fridge.  This week I'm desperately trying to use up all of the parsnips and potatoes I have taking up residence in every single one of my mixing bowls.

When I told my roommate I was making this soup yesterday she said "I don't even know what all of those things are supposed to taste like."  Neither did I.  But she and I stood looking over the pot and decided if it smelled good, it should taste good.  Right?

I stand by that theory after sitting down to eat.

Potato Parsnip Cabbage Soup

• 2 large parsnips, cut into 1" pieces
• 3 potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
• 2 T vegetable bouillon
• 3 cups cold water
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 T balsamic vinegar
• 1 T olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed into a paste
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 small head of green cabbage, chopped into small pieces

Cut up your potatoes and parsnips and add to stock pot.  Cover vegetables with 3 cups of water and add vegetable bouillon.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until you can pierce the potatoes easily with a fork.

At this point you have two options: Transfer vegetables to a blender and (with the top or center piece removed) blend veggies into a puree.  Option two: break out your immersion blender and puree vegetables right in the stock pot.  Immersion blender is by far the easier option.  

After drooling over this baby in every kitchen store I've been in for the past year, I finally got it for Christmas:

 

 

Yes, if you want me to love you, buy me a kitchen appliance.  If you want me to love you forever, buy me this appliance.  I'd cook and clean all day if I could!

Use the immersion blender right in the pot:

After blending into a puree, smash up your garlic into a sort of paste.

You could also mince the garlic if you don't want to spend the time mashing it up, but something about using the mortar and pestle makes me feel like a fancier cook than I actually am.  And I never get to use it for anything.  Contrary to the belief about osteopaths, I'm not a voo doo herbal medicine doctor grinding up home remedies in my kitchen.

Add applesauce, garlic, balsamic, olive oil and salt and pepper to the puree.  If you are using vegetable bouillon that isn't low in sodium be VERY careful how much salt you add, or else you'll end up with soup that tastes like nothing but salt.  Bouillon has a lot of sodium and you only need a shake or two of salt from the shaker to be enough.  (Trust me on this one... I made this recipe once before and it was a salty disaster.)

Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and let the soup simmer for about 40 minutes-- then add chopped cabbage to the soup, stir, and let simmer for 10 more minutes.

The applesauce and balsamic make this otherwise bland soup really delicious, and the cabbage gives it a little bit of crunch that kept me from feeling like I was eating a bowl of mush.  I'll make this again for sure, but may brown some onion in the bottom of the pot before adding anything else to give just a little more flavor.

Where my ingredients came from:

Potatoes, Parsnips, Cabbage, Garlic- Wolf Pine Farm CSA

Happy Wednesday!  This week I'm just hanging on until Thursday!