Most root veggies keep for up to two weeks and should be stored in plastic bags. You can leave the skin on young carrots or turnips but you should peel bigger or older ones because the skin will be bitter.

When you are using these vegetables to make a soup or stew, feel free to mix and match. All root vegetables complement each other’s flavors, which is why root vegetable pairings like potato and carrot, turnip and rutabaga or onion and garlic are used so often in recipes.

This soup is richly flavored, filling, and easy to make. If you have never tasted a root vegetable soup before, you are in for a real treat. A lot of people have tried famous soup recipes like French onion soup or minestrone soup but have not made root vegetable soup.

You might like to try turnip or rutabaga instead of the carrots, for a different flavor. Diced potato or yam works nicely also.This might be a basic soup but it is a real winter warmer and ideal for the whole family. Serve this vegetable soup with thick slabs of buttered bread. This recipe makes enough to serve four people.

Peel the carrots and parsnips and slice them into 1/3 inch thick disks. Finely chop the celery and onion and crush the garlic. Put the oil in a big pan and heat it over a medium heat. Add the celery and onion and fry them for 3 minutes. Add the crushed garlic and the spices.Cook the mixture for 20 seconds over a high heat, stirring it all the time. Add the broth, parsnips, and carrots. Add salt and pepper to taste and bring the soup to the boil. Simmer it until the vegetables are soft, and then puree it in a blender in batches, until the soup is the consistency you like. You can leave it a bit chunky if you prefer. Serve the soup hot.