IN SEASON Harvesting the Perfect Christmas Parsnips
Growing expert, Peter Adams, from Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Garden Rosemoor, teaches us about winter veggies and when to pull the perfect parsnip...
No Christmas dinner would be complete without the traditional roast parsnip, especially when they are fresh and home- grown. Here at RHS Garden Rosemoor, we have been trialing 27 diff erent parsnip varieties this year to fi nd the best ones for you to grow at home as part of our Award of Garden Merit (AGM) trials.
Now is the perfect time to head on out to the vegetable plot and harvest your parsnips, and like so many winter vegetables, parsnip always taste best aſt er having the fi rst frost or two of the winter on them whilst in the ground. T is sudden shock of cold causes the starches to turn to sugars, and in turn, intensifi es the sweetness for you on the plate.
T e long taproot of the parsnip can be easily broken during liſt ing, so it is always best to push a garden fork deep down alongside the parsnip and gently ease them up out of the soil. Luckily, there is no need to harvest them
in one great glut, they store beautifully in the ground and will keep well there until the early part of the new year.
T ere are many diff erent parsnip varieties available to consider growing for next year, including ‘Gladiator’, ‘Albion’ and ‘Panache’. Perhaps also consider these other vegetable crops for winter harvesting next year: celeriac, savoy cabbage, sprouts and purple sprouting broccoli, which will all give a tasty home-grown luxury during the long winter months.
SPICED PEANUT PARSNIP SOUP
By pre-roasting the parsnips, you get a great caramelised fl avour that gives this soup that extra fl avour boost.
Serves 2
3 parsnips, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 red onion, peeled and quartered 2 garlic cloves, peeled
2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled
2 tsp vegetable stock powder made up with 720ml boiling water
2 tbsp peanut butter 2 tbsp coconut cream 1 pinch of chilli powder 2 tsp ground cumin 30g fresh coriander
FOR THE TOPPING 1 tbsp coconut chips 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
15g fresh coriander, chopped Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Line an ovenproof dish with baking parchment, add the parsnips, onion, garlic
and ginger to the dish, and roast for about 20 mins.
2 Meanwhile, make the topping by stirring all the ingredients together to combine, seasoning with salt and pepper. Set aside.
3 Blitz the stock in a high- speed blender with the peanut butter, coconut cream, chilli powder, cumin and fresh coriander.
4 Remove the roasted veg from the oven and add to the blender. Power for 1–2 mins on a medium– high speed until you get a smooth texture. You may wish to add more water, depending on your preferred thickness.
5 Serve in bowls, sprinkled with the topping.
Pip & Nut: The Nut Butter Cookbook by Pippa Murray, published by Quadrille Publishing Limited
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