Parsnip soup with coconut and lime sauce: An unusual recipe Kenneth Culhane, Roux Scholar and head chef at The Dysart, Petersham
Wake up and take note. Exciting things are happening at The Dysart in Petersham. 2010 Roux Scholar Kenneth Culhane is at the helm in the kitchens – enough in itself to whet the appetite.
But when one hears of the foraging expeditions, and the collaboration with the Petersham cottage industry which provides Kenneth with hand-reared, rare breed Oxford Sandy and Blacks pigs, it becomes obvious that this is a venue with a real commitment to food.
Kenneth has kindly passed on his recipe for parsnip soup with coconut and lime sauce. Be warned: this is not your average soup. On the contrary, it is a parsnip soup par excellence; a soup with flair that would make a stunner of a starter at your next dinner party.
My hunch is that The Dysart is one to watch. Who knows? Petersham might once again find itself with a Michelin star.
Recipe:
Kenneth says: “The concept of this soup is that each mouthful will offer variations in flavours depending on how you mix the soup when eating it; different combinations of the three flavours and three textures that keep the appetite intrigued with each mouthful.”
Parsnip Soup
- 5 parsnips
- 3 Roscoff onions
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 5g thyme
- 3L freshly made chicken stock
- Season with Cornish sea salt to taste
Peel and slice the parsnips, onions and garlic very finely. Sweat the onions, garlic, and thyme together in a pot gently until translucent, approximately five minutes. Add the parsnips and cook to release the natural sugars in the vegetables, noticing a slight caramelisation in the pot.
Add the chicken stock and cook on a faster heat until the parsnips are very soft. Top up with chicken stock if more is needed as a result of evaporation during the cooking process. Blend in a thermomix, or ordinary domestic kitchen blender, season with sea salt and pass through a fine sieve.
Coconut Sauce
- 400ml can coconut milk
- 200ml full fat, organic milk
- 1g green bird’s eye Thai chillis
- 4g Cornish sea salt
- ½ a tablespoon of xantham gum (available in supermarkets)
- Blitz the coconut juice with the rest of the ingredients. Pass through a fine sieve.
- Place in a syphon gun with two chargers.
- (alternatively just use warmed coconut milk to drizzle across finished dish)
Fresh Lime Sauce
- The zest and juice of 4 limes
- 250ml water
- 60ml fresh elderflower syrup
- 3g lecithin (health food shops)
Mix the zest and juice of 4 limes with water, lecithin and elderflower syrup. Bring the ingredients to 65 degrees and blend with a hand blender, to create foam sauce.
Assembly
Place equal quantities of the coconut sauce/milk and lime sauce in a bowl, keeping them separate, pour the parsnip soup alongside the coconut and lime, taking care not to mix them, finish with a microplane of fresh lime on top.
Kenneth Culhane, Roux Scholar
The Dysart has a lovely atmosphere in the evening. A pianist plays ‘understated, live dinner music’ on the 1897 Bechstein piano (often accompanied by other instruments) from Thursday to Saturday. Sundays see regular classical music recitals followed by a candlelit dinner.
For more visit: thedysartarms.co.uk
