This month, Head Chef Charlie is taking a back seat as Thyme founder, Caryn Hibbert has paired up with daughter Milly to provide a family-favourite recipe for March.
With International Women’s Day around the corner, we’re thrilled that Caryn has chosen to join us. Caryn and Milly share a love of the land and are always thinking about new ways to bring the Thyme story to the fore, most recently working on developing the Botanical Bothy, part of the Meadow Spa. The glorious linen featured on the tray is, as ever, Caryn’s own design, based this month on the hellebore.
Movie Recommendation
The 1999 version of the Thomas Crown Affair is a must-watch. The chemistry between Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo’s characters is electric and the cinematography mesmerising. It’ll have you hooked from start to finish. The only thing this film has in common with the dish Caryn’s chosen is that you really need to focus all your attention on the film, so soup seemed the perfect easy supper.
Food: Parsnip Soup
by Caryn Hibbert
Serves 6-8 (but it keeps for a few days in the fridge and freezes well)
Ingredients
- 50g butter
- 2 onions
- 5 or 6 parsnips
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 heaped tbsp garam masala
- Freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt flakes
- 40ml milk
Method
- Peel and roughly chop the onions and garlic.
- Brush down the parsnips, top and tail them and roughly chop.
- Put 30g butter into a large pot and add the chopped vegetables on a medium heat. Gently brown for about 5 minutes.
- Add the garam masala and stir well. Cook for another couple of minutes.
- Cover all the vegetables with cold water, pop a lid on and simmer until the parsnips are soft to the tip of a knife (between 30 and 40 minutes).
- Season well. Remove from the heat and liquidise, then check again for seasoning.
- Add in the last of the butter and a splash of milk, stir well and serve.
You can add some roasted hazelnuts to the top if you like…and also, for a vegan version, use a splash of olive oil instead of butter initially and don’t add the butter and milk at the end. I always serve this soup with cheese scones. Delia does a fantastic wholewheat version.
Trayscape
Hellebores are commonly known as the winter, Christmas, or Lenten rose. Rich in nectar and pollen, they offer fuel stops for early pollinators; their downward facing flowers providing shelter to visiting bumblebees from winter rain. They’re early bloomers – flowering from January to May, so this print is perfect for this time of year.
Milly has kept it simple this month – there’s a hellebore placemat on the tray, underneath the parsnip soup. She feels that less is more with this print – it’s just so cheerful. Thyme do a wide range of linen placemats, table cloths, napkins and other adornments for the table. If you can’t get to Southrop to have a look, visit thyme.co.uk