Curry spiced apple and parsnip soup

After pizza for dinner last night and the left-overs for lunch today, I thought I'd go for a super healthy bowl of soup for dinner tonight; particularly as Gipsy Spread was taken care of with a Waitrose chicken kiev (score!).  A store cupboard brimming with an unending supply of curry spices, a bag of parsnips and some apples clearly screamed combine me, blend me and devour me. I also craved vitamins to stave off the last of this awful flu. A sweet and spicy soup it was for me. What you will need  4 parsnips

1 Bramley apple

1 tea spoon ground coriander

1 tea spoon ground cumin 1/2 tea spoon ground cinnamon

6 cardamom pods (crushed seeds only)

2 medium onions 2 cloves garlic 1 tea spoon turmeric 1 tea spoon ground ginger 1.2 litres vegetable stoc Toasted flaked almonds Fresh chives (to garnish)

Firstly, finely chop the onions and crush the garlic. Place the onions on to saute in some oil and butter for 5 minutes before adding the garlic.

Meanwhile, peel and chop the parsnips and apple. When the onions have softened, add all the spices and cook for another minute before adding the cubed parsnips and apple. Finally, top with the vegetable stock and leave to simmer for 50-60 minutes until the parsnips are soft. Then blend together to form a soup. Serve topped with toasted flaked almonds which add a wonderfully smokey nuttiness and crunch, along with chopped chives for some fragrance.