Recipe White Bean & Parsnip soup with Rosemary & Tarragon

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

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You could make this soup by substituting potato for parsnip, but I think that the parsnip adds a pleasing sweetness to the beans and works well with tarragon. Dried tarragon is fine to use here. Its a herb which retains its pungency. If you prefer a thick soup, simply use less stock or water. The touch of lemon juice is important. Added at the end of cooking it really freshens up the flavour.

37792


Ingredients (serves 2)
1 x 400g tin white kidney beans or cannellini beans
1 small parsnip, chopped into small pieces (approx 50g)
½ large onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped
500ml light vegetable or chicken stock or water
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dried tarragon (or ½ tbsp fresh tarragon leaves)
Salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste
Lemon juice, to taste
Olive oil or parsley oil to drizzle

Method
  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onion. Cook gently until slightly softened then add the chopped parsnip, rosemary and 200 ml of stock or water and a pinch of salt. Simmer until the parsnip is cooked through.
  2. Add the beans and two tablespoons of their can liquid. Heat through.
  3. Place the mixture in a blender and process until smooth (add more stock if needed).
  4. Return to the pan and add the remainder of the stock or water, the tarragon and the garlic powder, stirring until the soup is the consistency you prefer. You may not need all the stock. Heat gently for at least ten minutes.
  5. Add lemon juice, salt and ground white pepper, to taste.
  6. To serve, drizzle with a little olive oil or parsley oil and sprinkle with a little dried of fresh tarragon.
37791
 
Last edited:
morning glory said:
You could make this soup by substituting potato for parsnip, but I think that the parsnip adds a pleasing sweetness to the beans and works well with tarragon. Dried tarragon is fine to use here. Its a herb which retains its pungency. If you prefer a thick soup, simply use less stock or water. The touch of lemon juice is important. Added at the end of cooking it really freshens up the flavour.

View attachment 37792

Ingredients (serves 2)
1 x 400g tin white kidney beans or cannelloni beans
1 small parsnip, chopped into small pieces (approx 50g)
½ large onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped
500ml light vegetable or chicken stock or water
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dried or fresh tarragon
Salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste
Lemon juice, to taste
Olive oil or parsley oil to drizzle

Method
  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onion. Cook gently until slightly softened then add the chopped parsnip, rosemary and 200 ml of stock or water and a pinch of salt. Simmer until the parsnip is cooked through.
  2. Add the beans and two tablespoons of their can liquid. Heat through.
  3. Place the mixture in a blender and process until smooth (add more stock if needed).
  4. Return to the pan and add the remainder of the stock or water, the tarragon and the garlic powder, stirring until the soup is the consistency you prefer. You may not need all the stock. Heat gently for at least ten minutes.
  5. Add lemon juice, salt and ground white pepper, to taste.
  6. To serve, drizzle with a little olive oil or parsley oil and sprinkle with a little dried of fresh tarragon.
View attachment 37791
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As already mentioned, I would love to sit and have a bowl of your soup with you. It looks soooo good.

Russ
 
I bet Craig would really like this as he loves parsnips, though I would use basil or marjoram instead of the tarragon, as I'm not a fan at all.
 
medtran49 said:
I bet Craig would really like this as he loves parsnips, though I would use basil or marjoram instead of the tarragon, as I'm not a fan at all.
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MrsTasty is the same way with tarragon. A year or so ago, I made a string of dishes that all used tarragon, and every night, she'd complain that everything tasted "funny," and that no matter what I made, it all had the same off taste.

I thought maybe she was getting sick, or the butter or cream was off, something like that, and I finally realized that everything had tarragon in it, so I wadded a bit up in my hand to release the odor and asked, "Is it this?"

"THAT'S IT!!!" - no more tarragon.
 
TastyReuben said:
MrsTasty is the same way with tarragon. A year or so ago, I made a string of dishes that all used tarragon, and every night, she'd complain that everything tasted "funny," and that no matter what I made, it all had the same off taste.

I thought maybe she was getting sick, or the butter or cream was off, something like that, and I finally realized that everything had tarragon in it, so I wadded a bit up in my hand to release the odor and asked, "Is it this?"

"THAT'S IT!!!" - no more tarragon.
Click to expand...

It has to be used very judiciously or it definitely overpowers. I'm now curious - do MrsTasty or CraigC dislike all anise spectrum flavours - celery, celery seeds, fennel seeds, celeriac, star anise, pastis (Pernod), liquorice etc?
 
morning glory said:
It has to be used very judiciously or it definitely overpowers. I'm now curious - do MrsTasty or CraigC dislike all anise spectrum flavours - celery, celery seeds, fennel seeds, celeriac, star anise, pastis (Pernod), liquorice etc?
Click to expand...

It's not craig, it's me. I love cooked fennel, not fond of raw. I do use the anise spices, but cut down if there is a lot used. We use Pernod or Anisette in some dishes, mainly seafood, but i won't drink either. Licorice candy in any form will never go past my lips again. Celery is okay raw, but not cooked (like braised stalks, chopped in other things is fine), though i think that's more of a texture thing. I try to avoid celery seeds, but use them extremely judiciously if I must.

Not all that fond of marjoram either, but I will use fresh, though not dried unless it's in a mix like Cajun/Creole, where it's in a very small amount comparatively.

There's a lady on another forum that is like me with the tarragon and marjoram, though she won't eat fennel in any form. Wonder how Mrs. Tasty feels about marjoram.
 
Last edited:
morning glory said:
It has to be used very judiciously or it definitely overpowers. I'm now curious - do MrsTasty or CraigC dislike all anise spectrum flavours - celery, celery seeds, fennel seeds, celeriac, star anise, pastis (Pernod), liquorice etc?
Click to expand...
medtran49 said:
There's a lady on another forum that is like me with the tarragon and marjoram, though she won't eat fennel in any form. Wonder how Mrs. Tasty feels about marjoram.
Click to expand...

MrsTasty absolutely loves black licorice, as did her mother. We don't use marjoram much, so she's probably never noticed it. Celery and celeriac and fennel are fine also, although I've never thought of celery as having much of an anise taste at all. We eat a lot of celery.
 
medtran49 said:
It's not craig, it's me.
Click to expand...

My apologies.

TastyReuben said:
I've never thought of celery as having much of an anise taste at all. We eat a lot of celery.
Click to expand...

Its mild but most certainly there.

The thing about tarragon I sort of get. If you use too much it becomes almost sickly sweet in taste. I find the same with fennel seeds. Maybe I should move these posts to a new thread about anise flavours.
 
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