Healthy Eating: Food and Health with Healthy Eating Recipes by Lucy Hyland at Food For Living

Thursday 13th October

Check out my recipe about root vegetables in the Cork Indo or read below:

http://corkindependent.com/stories/item/5024/2011-41/Food-for-Living—Getting-to-the-root-of-it

The Autumn is well underway and I’ve just received my first batch of parsnips from my community growers scheme. I’ve realised that is it becomes colder, our tastes begin to change and our eating patterns change with it. Root vegetables seem to sum up winter eating: whether you are talking about beetroots, parsnips, Swedes, turnips or carrots. Their natural sweetness and high nutritious value are just perfect for comforting us this winter. So how do we get the best out of them for our health?

I will be using root vegetables a lot over the coming months as they are in our shops and taste at their best over winter. For those who have a natural sweet tooth, or especially for kids, using root vegetables, whether they are blended into a soup, steamed and then pureed on a piece of fish or meat, roasted in the oven or slow cooked in a stew – they always add plenty of flavour.

Although all root vegetables are slightly different, they are generally packed with vitamins, minerals and fibre. In addition, they contain a wide range of antioxidants which help to support liver detox, protect cells against damage and boost the immune functions within the body.

This recipe below would be equally nice with any root vegetable!

Parsnip and Haricot bean Soup

2 shallots
4 medium parsnips – chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
4 cloves of garlic
Half a tin of coconut milk
1 tin of haricot beans
1 litre boiling water
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

Method

Chop the shallots and the garlic and set aside for 5 mins. This will activate their health promoting properties.
Place the fennel, coriander and cumin in a large saucepan and warm gently for 5 mins until they start to smell. Remove from heat and place in a spice grinder/pestle and mortar and grind.
Put a little water in the saucepan, add the onions and sweat for 5-10 mins.
Add the spices, pepper and garlic and stir through.
Add the parsnips, add boiling water, bring to boil and simmer for around 30 mins.
Add coconut milk and haricot beans and cook for another few minutes.
Remove from heat and blitz with a hand blitzer or liquidiser.
This soup is lovely with some chopped parsley or coriander on top.

Gluten free, wheat free, dairy free and sugar free