Matt's Parsnip and Brie Soup Recipe

I was once served a soup similar to this at a company party while working on co-op. It now seems like ages since I was at school (quite a bit has happened since then), and I've been refining this soup ever since. Not all iterations have gone smoothly. There was the New Years dinner where I overdid the brie and forgot the ginger. After the audience was thrilled with the first bite, Don realized "Hey! This is just a big honkin' bowl of cheese!"

I have since remembered to put in the ginger and don't use quite as much cheese (at least not in the soup).

The Recipe

Start by reading the above reminder not to use too much cheese. The only other way I know to mess up this recipe is to burn the bottom of the cheese while boiling in the brie.


Ingredients

2.5kg raw, unadulterated parsnips
1kg double creme brie
150g whole ginger root
2L chicken or vegetable broth
Some water


Now that you've finished reading the ingredients and are thinking "that's a LOT of parsnips", understand that I like to make things big. This soup freezes very well, and the quantities above easily make enough for 12 people. If you care to wimp out, feel free to divide proportionately.
Start by finding a pot big enough to contain all the ingredients. Put in the broth and bring it to a boil. To save time later, boil your kettle full of water. Cut off the ends of the parsnips, but do not peel (I've been told root vegetable peel has lots of vitamins, and since peeling is work unnecessary, don't bother). Chop them up into chunks just small enough to fit in your pot. When the broth is boiling, throw them in and add enough water (preferably boiling) to just barely cover the parsnips. Peel and chop the ginger, and add to the parsnips. Boil on high heat, covered (with the lid on the pot) until soft, about a half hour on my stove.
Add the brie. It's fun to chuck in the whole wheel, and since it really doesn't matter if you chop it up since you're melting, go ahead. Reduce to medium heat, since you don't want the cheese to burn. Stir fairly frequently. When the cheese is melted, turn off the heat and transfer the soup in batches to your blender. Liquefy. Add the batches to a clean pot, and simmer until served.

Did you enjoy that? Great.