This week we are talking parsnips! 

Very closely related to carrots and a little oddly to parsley also! It's a long tuberous root with a cream coloured flesh. Sweetened in the ground after a good frost or cold snap making them a great winter vegetable.

Parsnips are sweet like carrots but unlike a carrot they have a slightly nutty and more earthy flavour.

There are many ways you can prepare a parsnip:

Simply roast them with a little oil and touch of honey to bring out the sweetness

Peel and boil in milk, draining when tender and mashing with a little of the milk and butter

Roasted with beetroot and carrots for a warm root salad, served with rocket and a curried yoghurt

Grate and combine with melted butter and seasoning, pressing into a non stick frypan for a parsnip rosti

Popping them into your slow cooker with some lamb shanks, good amount of red wine and fresh thyme for a great winter one pot wonder

Roast, then crush with chickpeas into ring moulds. Making up some vegetable patties

Its endless, so get them whilst they are cheap and lets get cooking Good from Scratch !

Spiced salt roasted parsnips with warm chickpeas

Serves 4

6 parsnips, peeled & cut into long wedges

2 tbsp cooking oil

Heat oven to 160 degrees. Place the in a large bowl and toss through oil and spiced salt. Then into a roasting tray ensuring all the parsnips are single layer. Bake for 20 minutes before tossing and cooking for a further 5 minutes while you make the chickpea salsa.

Once the parsnips are cooked and whilst they are still hot, toss through the chickpea salsa and serve.

Spiced salt

1/2 tsp smoked paprika powder

1 tsp sea salt

Warm chickpeas salsa

1x 330 ml can chickpeas, drained

2 tomatoes, finely diced

½ cup parsley, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

5 tbsp Grove avocado oil

1 lemon, juiced & zested

Salt & pepper

Heat a frypan and add a touch of oil, when hot carefully sauté the chickpeas until they are golden and crunchy. Place into a bowl and combine all the rest of the ingredients and mix well.