Perking Up Your Parsnips

Sophie Morris shares four different ways to cook and enjoy the pick of this season's crop - parsnips.

At university I lived off alcohol and Baxters Spicy Parsnip Soup. Looking at the ingredients now, there are probably far worse regimes I could have followed in the absence of any food shops nearby, or an actual oven in our excuse for a kitchen.

Doing my research reveals that my predilection for parsnips was also an early – if unwitting - protest against big agribusiness, because it turns out that while nearly all vegetable seeds have been bought out by international corporations, parsnips are largely a British crop and the seeds are predominantly UK-bred by Tozers of Cobham.

So: eating parsnips represents one in the eye for the scary frankenfood proponents. I digress. The point is, now is the time to get started on eating parsnips, because the season is just upon us, heralded as it is each year by the first frosts, which usually means November, and this is Britain’s frostiest week yet.

Parsnips are at their best from late November through to February, early March at a push and weather-depending. You might find them out of season, but be warned: they will be either tasteless (not long enough in the ground), woody (too long in the ground), or they may have come from abroad.

I have made Riverford’s Spiced Parsnip Soup several times. It’s a solid recipe with cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, ginger and coconut milk, and I’m sure most of you will prefer it to any tinned version, but for me it lacks the nostalgia value of Ena Baxter’s classic.

Otherwise, roasting parsnips is the obvious way to enjoy them. Add some honey, sugar and orange zest. Or mash them, but be aware that parsnips are quite fibrous so you will need to blend them if you want a super smooth creamy mash.

I decided to branch out from the soup and made this Parsnip and Thyme bread by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. It is so easy a child could make it (it would be a good way of sneaking parsnips into their meal) and you’re left with a moist, cheesy bread full of caramelised onions and the unrefined sweetness of the parsnips. It’s good on its own, and great with a bit of good ham.

This Parsnip and Parmesan gratin is also good, and looks cute made in individual pots.

If I had any parsnips left, I could be certainly persuaded to make this Parsnip Cake, apparently similar to carrot cake.

Also worth your attention:

Sweet Potato and Parsnip Soup