PARSNIPS
Parsnips!!!
A vegetable I detested as a child but have lately realised is delicious if
cooked the right way. One of the best
ways I like parsnip is mashed. Of course
you have to get good parsnips to being with – firm and creamy white, young with
plenty of flesh and it is good if they have had a touch of frost while they are
growing as it makes them sweeter.
Parsnips are one of the few vegetables, apart from the cabbage family,
that like growing in winter but don’t forget if you want to grow them you must
use fresh seed.
Mashed parsnips
1.
Chop up 4 parsnips into fairly large
pieces and place them in a saucepan with about a litre of milk and about three
2 cm long pieces of peeled ginger root.
2.
Cook your parsnip in the milk until they
are very tender.
3.
Strain, discard the ginger if you like
4.
Puree your parsnip in a food processer
with lots of butter and season to taste.
This
recipe takes parsnips to a whole new level of flavour and creaminess.
Roast Parsnips
This
is how most of us eat parsnips. Roast
parsnips can be sublime if you emphasise their natural sweetness.
1.
Cut your parsnips into chunks or cut
into quarters depending on their size
2.
Place your parsnips in a baking dish
sprayed or coated with some olive oil ( you can speed up the cooking process by pre-boiling the vegetables for 5
minutes
3.
Add other vegetables that have some
sweetness such as carrots and leeks (cut in half lengthwise) even a few cooking
apples if you like
4.
Cook in a 180°C oven for 25 – 50
minutes until they are just tender
5.
You can then provide a bit of a
flavour hit by adding some of the following:
o
1 teaspoon of toasted caraway or cumin
seeds
o
2 tablespoons each of genuine maple
syrup and chopped hazel nuts
o
2 tablespoons of honey mixed with 2
teaspoons of wholegrain mustard
o
4 whole bacon rashers
o
A slurp of balsamic vinegar or a dash
of balsamic vinegar glaze
Continue
roasting for another 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are carmelised but not
burnt
Pureed
boiled, steamed or even roasted parsnips can be used for a fashionable smear on
your plate to form a base for other delicacies or turned into soups or even
dips with a bit of imagination and flavourings.
Sometimes parsnips can be a bit fibrous, if so sieve your puree before
using it. You can add parsnip puree to
mashes of potato, carrot, sweet potato or peas to add extra depth of flavour.
Try parsnip, celeriac and blue cheese mash at
or
parsnip, ginger puree with basil oil
1.
Sauté aromatics such as a chopped
onion, celery, garlic, chilli and ginger in a pan
2.
Add 4 large peeled, chopped parsnips
(add carrots or sweep potato if you like)
3.
Sauté for a few minutes with a tbsp of
good quality curry powder or paste, you could also add some mustard seeds,
garam masala or turmeric, cumin or Moroccan spice
4.
Add 1 litre of vegetable or chicken
stock and cook until the vegetables are very tender
5.
Cool a little and puree in a blender
6.
Return to pan and add a small can of
coconut milk
7.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves
or fried curry leaves
You
can also make parsnip chips by frying very thinly sliced parsnip rings in hot
oil.
For
hints for cooking parsnips try
For
tips on growing parsnips try
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