Grow Your Own Magazine

This recipe can use a lot of parsnips. It's derived from a recipe I foudn in the Readers Digest Cookery year but massivley improved over about 15 years of experimentation and my friends reckon that I've changed it enough that I can call it my own. If you ever tried it in the 70s but thought close but not quite you have to try this, it's worth the effort Footnotes at the bottom on variations I tried that didn't work in case you want to experiment (always encouraged, the best things are accidents/experiments IMO)

BTW it freezes brilliantly so if you have a lot of parsnips left you can do a huge one and portion and freeze after cooking, reheat gently until hot through.

it tastes amazingly rich BTW, the amount of cream, butter and oil can be adjusted to taste.

1. Peel the skin off the parsnip and top and tail them. Discard these bits (or make stock with them)

2. peel strips of parsnip the same way as you peel the outer off into a bowl so you end up with lots of wafer thin slices of parsnip. stop when you get the woody core, discard core or add to stock pot for something else (soup I say).

3. heat a little olive oil (no need for it to be extra virgin, I use light) and a small knob of butter in a good non stick pan (or enamelled pan such as le crueset) on a medium heat and add parsnip strips, fry/saute until they're soft (almost mash consistency) and lightly coloured.

Hard bits over.

4. place a layer of parsnip (about an inch think or less if you don't have glut) in an oven proof bowl (eg pyrex), sprinkle with a little salt, pepper, sugar (little, at the right time of year parsnips are naturally sweet, so sometimes the sugar isn't at all necessary) and if you like it a little grated nutmeg (really does work, one of my additions to the old recipe).

5. drizzle a little cream on top of the parsnip layer, just enough to wet it out ie if you used 6 large parsnips you'd need about 3 tablespoons of cream in total for the whole dish.

6. place a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes on top of the parsnip.

7. repeat steps 4, 5 and 6, ie layer of parsnip mush, seasoning, cream and the tomatoes ending with a layer of tomatoes.

8 optionally.. end with a thin layer of whatever firm cheese you like, ie cheddar, parmesan, smoked cuddys (my fave cumbrian cheese).

9. bake in low oven for about 40 mins, if serving with a roast dinner you can cook for about 30 mins at 200c but the edges will go crispy, but that just creates an edge of caramelised parsnips which is actually delicious so if it goes a little black at the very edges taste it, you might really like the edges too.

Goes great with roast dinners, gammon, bacon. Is a great veggie main (my veggie friends love it).

If you find yourself making it often (I do it about once a week in the winter) then pre mix the spices in a jar so you can just sprinkle the layers easily. I do equal parts salt, pepper, sugar and a little nutmeg.

This dish loves Aga/Rayburn cooking.

Goes amazingly well with Christmas dinner. Assuming you're roasting something

Things I'm going to try.

Using honey and mustard instead of sugar and nutmeg.

Things that I tried that didn't work:

Tried slicing the parsnips with the slicer in my magimix, the woody bits were still tough, felt the incessant peeling was still worth it (tip just do the peeling of the flesh while watching a movie). Although I didn't saute each of the slices, thought that would take too long, I was after a shortcut, this isn't one of those dishes. I have little time to cook (especially now I'm gardening) but I still think it's one of those dishes I can't live without.

Fast baking, just never does it justice. and after all that peeling who wants to rush it.

I'll post a picture the next time I make it. If I can convince OH to lend me the camera I'll show you the stages too.

bear in mind that his dish uses a few tablespoons of cream and a little butter, the rest is healthy and it sure tastes rich. A 6 large parsnip based dish can serve 3 as a generous main course. I do molly parkin as often as I do standard roast parsnips now. In fact I almost jump for joy when I see the first of them in the shops, it makes up for winter for me, but then I do love parsnips.

Enjoy.

Angie

whatever you've got, both work. I've used whipping cream too.

I usually use elmlea because that's what I've got in but it is really good with proper cream too.

I shall try your mash too.

I made mashed potato with my recently give kenwood chef last night, that was so good I can only imagine how good mashed parsnip would be.

That sounds delicious, I love roast parsnips so I'll definitely try this!

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Dwell simply ~ love richly

I cut them thinly in the magimix and put them in the deep fat fryer parsnip crisps
nice with a salard

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Dobby