Winter Soups

Tonight's cooking class was Winter Soups, just a one day class. We made 7 soups. The structure of the class was a little different than others I've taken. The instructor had done some prep before we got there and gave out 7 recipes and walked us through them all briefly. We then picked which one we wanted to make, split up and cooked. I didn't like the format as much as others, since I basically made one soup (alone) and asking questions was difficult because the teacher was trying to be 7 places at once.

It was nice being able to taste 6 other soups, and two of the recipes basically just differed on the types of onions used and it was nice to be able to compare the results. Still there were a lot of people on top of each other in the kitchen, questions were a little frustrating, and you really only made one dish. In other classes we all stood around as the teacher went through the recipe handing off work (chopping, stirring, etc) so people did something and she (so far all my teachers have been women) could move on.

Anyway, I made a carrot and parsnip pureed soup and it seemed to be most people's favorite. But I claim little responsibility because it was so trivial. Saute two chopped onions until translucent. Add 6-8 cups vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add one pound each of roughly chopped carrots and parsnips. Bring to a boil and lower heat and simmer 30 mins. Add some chopped fresh thyme and sage. Puree with an immersion blender (fun). Season to taste, optionally add some cream. Easy and yummy.