Turnip Soup with Carrot Crisps

The spring is here, I can feel it! The birds are singing and the air is so fresh. I love the early mornings, when I come down to my patio to check out the weather and I can feel how the earth is waking up after a long sleep. But before we all dive into yellow colors, Easter eggs and pink flowers I would like to say good bye to the winter, to those cold days when we were sharing great food with our dear friends by the fireplace, to winter holidays and to snowflakes (we had snow only 3 times this winter), and many more unforgettable moments of the past season. We had a long walk with my daughter in Taylor Park on a beautiful sunny and warm day, and yet the presence of winter is still here. We are in a middle of season change and I love the times when winter is holding hands with spring.



Very soon we are going to plan spring menus with greens and berries, salads and chilled soups, but before that I would like to share with you one more dish which represents to me an essence of the passed cold days - Turnip Soup with Carrot Chips.



Ingredients:

• 3-4 small turnips, white or purple, peeled and cubed, about 3 cups
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 3-4 cups vegetable stock or water
• 1/4 tsp White Pepper
• salt to taste
• 1 cup milk or cream
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 medium carrot
• canola oil for frying carrot chips
• Black Hawaiian Sea Salt (optional)
• scallions for garnish, or any other herb

Directions:

Warm the oil in a pot over medium heat, add the onion and cook for a few minutes. Add the turnips and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until turnip is tender.

In the meantime, using a vegetable peeler slice the carrots. Pat them off with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Heat the canola oil (350F) and fry the carrot strips until they crisp up. Drain them on paper towels and season with salt.

When the turnips are tender, puree the soup in a food processor. Return to low heat, add milk or cream, butter, and then season with salt and white pepper.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish each serving with scallions and the crispy carrot strips. Sprinkle with Black Hawaiian Sea Salt. Serve immediately.