Roasted Parsnip

Roasted parsnip is a simple, classic side dish in which the sweet, earthy flavour of this somewhat forgotten root vegetable really comes through. With just a few ingredients and some oven time, you get golden-brown, gently sweet pieces of parsnip that go well with meat, poultry or a simple vegetable dish.

Serves: 4
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 30–35 minutes
Total time: approx. 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 600–800 g parsnip
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp (coarse) sea salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme or rosemary (optional)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed, preferably in the skin (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (conventional) or 180 °C (fan).
2. Line a baking tray with baking parchment or lightly grease the tray.
3. Peel the parsnip and cut into batons or chunky chips about 1 cm thick. Make sure the pieces are roughly the same size so they cook evenly.

Method

1. Season the parsnip
   Put the parsnip in a large bowl and add the olive oil, sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
2. Add thyme and garlic
   Strip the leaves from the thyme or rosemary, if needed, and add to the parsnip. Add the crushed clove of garlic (preferably in the skin) and mix everything well so the parsnip is lightly coated with oil all over.
3. Spread over the baking tray
   Spread the parsnip out on the baking tray in a single layer, making sure the pieces are not on top of each other.
4. Roast the parsnip
   Slide the baking tray into the middle of the oven and roast the parsnip for 30–35 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Turn the pieces once halfway through the cooking time.
5. Check for doneness
   Check that you can easily pierce the pieces with the tip of a knife and that the edges are lightly caramelised.
6. Finish and serve
   Remove the parsnip from the oven and, if desired, remove the garlic clove and thick sprigs of rosemary or thyme. Taste and, if needed, season further with salt and pepper, and serve straight away, warm, as a simple side dish with meat, poultry or another vegetable dish.