Spicy parsnip soup - 50p for four portions!

Spicy parsnip soup

Feeding four people for 50p?! It can't be done I hear you cry - oh yes it can with a bit of shelfing action!

I made this spicy parsnip soup a few weekends ago for around 50p and there was enough for four healthy portions.

I had bought a bag of #SOS parsnips for just 15p - down from £1. They had been lingering in my fridge for a while and were in need of using up so when I spotted a pint of #SOS milk for just 10p I knew their time had come!

I followed a Jamie Oliver recipe* but did add an extra chopped chilli to the proceedings for added punch. I also didn't add butter which was called for in Jamie's recipes to cut down on the calories. Here's the recipe for my version:

1) Chop an onion, a few cloves of garlic, a fresh chilli and a small piece of fresh ginger.
2) Gently fry them in a large saucepan with some olive oil until they are soft.
3) Add a tablespoon of garam masala.
4) Peel and chop some parsnips into chunks (I used four) and put them in the pan and give it all a good old mix.
5) Pour in 500ml of milk and one litre of vegetable stock, season well and bring to the boil.
6) Turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on.
7) Once the parsnips are soft, remove from the heat and whiz up - I used a hand blender to do this.
8) Add salt and pepper to taste.
9) Serve with a few fresh coriander leaves sprinkled on top.

This soup really packed a punch and was very filling. Mr Kate certainly enjoyed it!

With the 15p parsnips and 10p milk, when the cost of the other ingredients were added to it this cost around 50p for four portions. I bet Jamie Oliver's cost a little more than that! ;-)

*The Jamie Oliver recipe can be found at: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/spicy-parsnip-soup