Found this one hidden in one of my old hand-written recipe books. Apparently, I pinched it from an old Milk Calendar. I won’t lie – there’s a bit of prep required in terms of vegetable chopping – but once that’s done – the rest is pretty much a breeze. Everyone liked it – kids included. And I froze the leftovers.
Ingredients:
3 T. olive oil
3 leeks, sliced (white and pale green parts)
4 Lg. carrots, sliced
2 Lg. parsnips, sliced
2 apples, peeled and chopped
2 boxes of vegetable or chicken stock (I used one of each)
1 t. sugar (opt.)*
4-5 c. milk
salt, pepper, dill
In a large sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat and add leeks, carrots, parsnips and apples. Cook for about 5 minutes – stirring often. Cover and reduce heat to low and cook for another 10 minutes to soften vegetables.
Stir in dill, stock and sugar and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, cover and simmer another 15-20 minutes until vegetables are tender.
Cool slightly. Stir in 2 c. milk and then puree in blender or food processor in batches. Return soup to pan and add remaining milk. Heat through (but don’t boil). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Garnish with dill sprigs if desired. If you prefer a thinner soup, add more milk.
*The recipe called for sugar – but I found the soup a tad too sweet. Next time, I’m going to omit the sugar. I think the carrots make it plenty sweet enough.