On a cold day, home-made soup is a must. I make a whole batch to feast on through the week – or as long as it lasts! This is a classic recipe as made by my mother, but doesn’t taste any worse for that. She would have added cream, but there’s no need for that in a dairy free diet – coconut milk is a perfectly good substitute and complements the curry flavour. I use lovely fresh organic parsnips from the Farmers’ Market, served with crusty bread.

Serves 4

4 large parsnips
2 large onions
coconut oil
3 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper
200 ml coconut milk

Thinly slice the onions, and then the parsnips in a Magimix or using a mandolin. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sweat the onions until soft, covering the pan to retain the moisture. Then add the curry powder and fry until fragrant.

Next add the thinly sliced parsnips. Season with salt and pepper and continue to sweat with the lid on until completely soft.

Cover the parsnips with water (or stock if you wish), to about an inch or so above the parsnip/onion mixture. Cover the pan and bring to the boil and simmer gently until the parsnips are completely soft.

Whizz up the soup in a blender – I usually draw of the liquid and then just add the mush to the blender bowl, saves lots of decanting. Add the blended parsnips/onion mix back to the pan with the set-aside liquid and bring to the boil. When almost ready to serve, add the coconut milk and stir it in.

Serve piping hot with some parsley or paprika garnish.