Parsnips need a bit of frost before harvesting, so we need cold nights

Apparently parsnips need a bit of frost before they can be harvested and now with the benefit of a couple of cold nights, they’re ready to be enjoyed. My heart actually skipped a beat at the sight of them and the thought of what to cook with them. Maybe I need to get out more?

A simple way of preparing them is to give them a good scrub, cut them in half lengthwise and drizzle with oil, a sprinkling of salt and a twig or two of thyme. Roast to bronze perfection and serve as part of your roast dinner. To take roast parsnips to a different level you can crisp them up with a breadcrumb crust. When the parsnips are cool, toss them in flour seasoned with mustard powder and salt, then into egg and finally in breadcrumbs. Japanese panko crumbs are now widely available and good for this recipe. This is also a good way of using up leftover roast vegetables and works well with carrots too. Parsnips and mustard have a great affinity and here a mustard dressing adds a little heat to the sweet vegetables.

Something else that works well with parsnips is duck. If you’re roasting a duck, add some parsnips half way through the cooking to get the benefit of the fat from the bird – soft unctuous roast duck and crispy parsnips is hard to beat. Duck legs are a relatively cheap but such a tasty product. In the recipe here they’re slowly braised and the meat shredded and added to chopped roast parsnip. The mixture is placed in the middle of a rectangle of pastry, folded over and cut into slices like sausage rolls, and baked. I’ve added a recipe for pastry but use ready rolled if you wish.

The duck puffs would be great on their own with a bit of mustard mayonnaise to dip them in or you could use them to accompany a parsnip soup. The recipe here is for a veloute, meaning velvety. In classic French cooking a veloute started out with a roux but I find this a bit heavy and unnecessary as the parsnips will naturally thicken the soup. Start off with some chopped bacon in a pan and when it’s crisp take it out leaving the fat. Add some butter to the mix and cook onion, celery and garlic in this until soft and golden. Add the parsnips, stock and simmer. Blend to a smooth puree when the parsnips are soft and adjust the consistency if necessary. Dice some apple and mix in a vinegar and thyme. Toss in the bacon and spoon over the top of the soup for a crispy, zingy flavour and texture contrast. Local parsnips are available now – try and buy them in dirt as they will taste infinitely better than the pristine, scrubbed ones trapped in plastic bags.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​