Maple Parsnip Soup With Chipotle-Maple Syrup Drizzle

From Cyndi Fetcher

Cyndi delivered this soup to Soup & Bread way back in February, but it took until early April to get the recipe. She’s got a good excuse though! She’s been busy whipping together the inaugural issue of Graze, a new food-oriented lit mag devoted to “the food on your mind and the thoughts on your plate.” I was a judge for their fundraiser chili cookoff in December, and I’ve been eagerly waiting to see what they come up with in print. You can come see for yourself on April 27, when the magazine throws a launch party at the Smart Museum in conjunction with the ongoing exhibit Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art. And, in the meantime, you should try this soup.

Ingredients
Soup
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup coconut milk (or almond milk)
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons spicy Dijon mustard
salt to taste

Chipotle maple syrup
1 can chipotles in Adobo sauce (I use La Morena brand)
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
1 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
smoked paprika

Preparation
Soup
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add in onions and garlic and saute until onions are translucent (but not brown). Add in chopped parsnips

Add broth and nutmeg and simmer until parsnips are soft, about 40 minutes.

While the parsnips are simmering, make the chipotle maple syrup (below).

After 40 minutes, add milk and remove from heat. Puree using an immersion blender, or in a traditional blender in batches.

Stir in maple syrup and mustard. Serve with a drizzle with chipotle maple syrup.

Chipotle maple syrup

Simmer the maple syrup, water, and brown sugar in a small pot. It should be pretty thin.

Finely chop one chipotle and add to the syrup mixture. Add adobo sauce to taste–I used at least two tablespoons, but it’s very spicy, so adjust to your preferences.

Simmer until the liquid is reduced to one cup of thick maple syrup. Strain out the pepper chunks (or leave them in for a more rustic sauce), and serve. Chipotle maple syrup is also fantastic on savory waffles and buckwheat crepes.