Roast Pumpkin and Parsnip Soup with rosemary- vegan

Subtly sweet and smoky flavours combined with a velvety texture make this soup real Winter comfort food!

Yes, I know we've posted lots of soups and smoothies lately, but that's what we've been making for ourselves. Besides, this soup just had to be shared; it's sweet and delicate and creamy and such a pretty orange colour. It is a thick, smooth soup, so if you serve it as a starter don't pair it with anything too filling. As our UK Winter -so far-  has been unseasonably mild, there was plenty of healthy foliage on our rosemary bush to pick. (I usually feel like I shouldn't take any leaves off the rosemary in Winter even though it's evergreen, for fear of weakening it: weird or sensible??) If you haven't got fresh, then dried rosemary would do just fine. This recipe serves 4 or 5 medium-sized bowls. (Recipe below the picture.)

400g pumpkin, cut into chunks. (A dry, orange-fleshed kabocha type is what we used. Maybe butternut squash would also work well.) 

a little cold pressed sunflower/ olive oil for roasting

450g fresh parsnip, diced

1l water

4 or 5x 2" sprigs of fresh rosemary

200ml coconut milk (we used the thick kind from a can)

2 tsps seasalt

1 tab soy sauce

1 tab sweet smoked paprika

1/2 tsp compound hing

a pinch of black pepper

• Roast the pumpkin at 200C until browned at the edges. Add the rosemary sprigs for the last few minutes, but not so that they get brown and crispy.
• Meanwhile, cook the parsnip in the water and salt, simmering it with the lid on until soft.
• By this time the pumpkin should be ready, so take off the rosemary and set it aside Add the pumpkin to the pan.
• Stir in the soy sauce, hing, black pepper and smoked paprika with the coconut milk. Make sure the heat is low; boiling soup at this stage can destroy some of the flavours.
• Use a hand blender (less mess!) to break it down into a thick, smooth and creamy soup. 
• Strip the leaves off the rosemary sprigs and add them to the pan. As I don't like the chewy/ woody texture of whole rosemary leaves I whizzed them to a coarse powder in a spice grinder before I put them in.