This recipe is adapted from Nigel Slater’s fantastic cookbook, Tender: A Cook and his Vegetable Patch. Steaming the parsnips before roasting in a moderate oven keeps them moist and tender. Slater suggests using duck drippings instead of oil and butter, so substitute if you like.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound parsnips
- Olive oil or peanut oil or a mixture of melted butter and oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350 ° F. Peel parsnips, cut into fat lumps of uniform size and steam in a pan of boiling water for 10 minutes.
- Dry to remove any water, then toss with oil (or oil and butter) to coat. Place on a baking sheet and roast for forty-five minutes or so until tender and golden brown on the outside (approaching black in spots, here or there). Turn once or twice during cooking.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- As a variation, add some onions into the pan with fresh thyme sprigs and a drizzle of maple syrup or after the roots come out of the oven dress with honey, sherry vinegar and toasted sesame seeds.