We used to have this designated area in our living room, originally called "the reading nook." It was a futon mattress covered with pillows and surrounded by books. This eventually got phased out to make space for the nugget boy. But that reading nook actually had very important second function, which became our more commonly used term for the space. It was called "the mope hole." The mope hole was a fun place for - you guessed it! - moping. Mad or sad or stressed about something? Just go to the mope hole and hug a pillow! Snuggling into a makeshift fort of books and pillows is a surefire way to lift a dark mood. After a good mope, the sun shines brighter, the birds chirp more beautifully, the grass is greener, the sky bluer, I'm sure you get the cliched picture. But alas, I am a woman without a mope hole. So instead, I look to delicious food to eradicate a foul mood. A warm bowl of parsnip, fennel and tarragon soup served with a grilled turkey, apple, and squash sandwich, all melty with cheddar, was just the thing to help me recently on a cold, (relatively) dark day.
Ingredients
6 peeled parsnips, cut in half lengthwise
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced on mandolin
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt, to taste
white pepper, to taste
1/3 cup tarragon leaves
2-3 tablespoons of juice from Meyer lemon
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup ricotta
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 cups chicken stock
deli turkey slices
slices of good quality cheddar
a roasted slice of acorn squash
slices of Granny Smith apple
good quality Dijon mustard
slices of whole wheat bread
1 tablespoon canola oil
Instructions
Heat oven to 400. Place parsnips and fennel in baking dish. Cover with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until tender and brown. Remove from baking dish and place in a pot. Add tarragon, lemon zest, lemon juice, ricotta, whipping cream, and chicken stock. Blend everything together with an immersion blender (or pour into a blender or food processor), and puree until smooth. Gently heat the soup until hot. To assemble the sandwiches, place the turkey, cheddar, squash, and apple slices between the slices of bread, and smear one piece of bread with the mustard. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat and place the sandwich(s) in it. Bronze one side of the sandwich, then flip over to bronze the other side. Serve the soup with the turkey sandwiches, and feel your mood, hopefully, become a happy one.
