How to make Colm O'Gorman's spiced roast turnip soup with freshly baked soda farls

With Christmas Day behind you, you may be a little tired of cooking. It is also distinctly possible that after a lovely few days together, everyone is getting a little stir crazy. Perhaps a long afternoon walk will help to blow off the cobwebs and refresh everyone. And then something nice to eat, but not something that requires a lot of effort, especially if you are still feeding a crowd.

Once Christmas Day is over, meals in our house tend to be very informal for the following few days. Either everyone helps themselves to leftovers for a few days, or I cook up something each day that can sit in the pot and be warmed up by anyone whenever they feel hungry. After the indulgence of Christmas Day and the richness of all that food, a good soup and some freshly baked bread is perfect, especially after a long walk.

This spiced Turnip Soup will also keep the festive vibe going. It is flavoured with ginger and nutmeg, and the turnip is roasted and caramelised before being added to stock to make a smooth, creamy, delicious soup. If your childhood memories of turnip are of soggy mashed turnip that has been boiled half to death, try this recipe. It will be a revelation.

I serve this with freshly baked soda farls. These are very quick and easy to make, and delicious when served warm with lots of butter. If you don’t have any buttermilk in the fridge, use a mix of half fresh milk & half natural yoghurt, or add a little lemon juice or white vinegar to 400ml milk to sour it.

Colm O'Gorman's spiced roast turnip soup with freshly baked soda farls

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

A good soup and some freshly baked bread is perfection

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 55 mins

Course

 Starter

Ingredients

• Soup

• 1 turnip, approx. 600-700g in weight.

• 1tsp sweet paprika

• 40g butter

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• ¼ tsp fresh ground nutmeg

• 1tbsp soft brown sugar

• 1 tsp flaky sea salt

• Fresh ground black pepper

• 1 medium onion

• 2-3cm ginger

• 1 medium potato

• 1litre chicken or vegetable stock

• Soda Farls

• 400g plain white flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• Pinch of salt

• 400ml of buttermilk

• 1tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius. Peel and chop the turnip into 3cm chunks; you need about 500g of peeled and chopped turnip for this recipe. Peel and finely chop the ginger. Heat a roasting tin on the hob and add the butter and rapeseed oil. When the butter begins to foam, add the paprika and the ground nutmeg. Reduce the heat to low, stir in the spices and let them sizzle for a minute. Keep an eye on the pan and stir as needed to prevent the spices from burning.

2. Next, add the chopped turnip, the sugar, ginger, salt, and a good grind of black pepper. Stir over a medium heat to coat the turnip and melt the sugar, and then pop the roasting tin in your preheated oven. Roast for forty minutes, giving the turnip a stir hallway through.

3. Peel and slice the onion. Peel and cut the potato into eighths. Heat a little olive in a large saucepan and add the onion. Cook until it is soft and translucent, four to five minutes will do it, then add the potato and the stock. Bring the pot to the boil, before reducing to a simmer. Cover the pot and let it simmer away until the potato is cooked through and soft, about ten minutes will do it.

4. Time now to make the Soda Farls. Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle, add the buttermilk and the olive oil. Use a big spoon to mix it into a soft dough. This will be a wet dough, so do not panic and add more flour, it is meant to be this soft.

5. Turn the dough out into a floured surface, sprinkle with more flour & shape it gently into a rough square, about 2 cm thick. Use a long knife to cut it into quarters, then eighths. As the dough is soft, flour the blade of the knife before you cut to stop it from sticking.

6. Heat a heavy non-stick griddle pan over a high heat.

7. Test the pan is hot enough by sprinkling a little flour in the pan. It if browns quickly, it is hot enough. Reduce the heat to medium and pop on the Soda Farls. Cook for about six minutes until they are lightly browned on one side. Turn them over and cook for another six minutes before removing them from them pan onto a wire rack. If your pan is not big enough, you may have to cook the farls in two batches.

8. The turnip should be perfectly roasted and ready to come out of the oven now. Check it, you want it cooked through and soft; it if needs another five minutes, pop it back in.

9. Add the cooked turnip to the potato & stock. Use a stick blender to whizz it to a smooth soup. If it is too thick for your taste, add more stock, or a little milk. Warm it through gently and season to taste.

10. Crisp a few slices of Parma or serrano ham under the grill and use a vegetable peeler to shave some thin strips from a block of parmesan cheese.

11. Ladle the soup into warm bowls. Cut open and butter the farls. Be generous with the butter, and let it melt into the warm farls. Finish each bowl with some of the crisped ham and parmesan shavings. Serve immediately.