One Giant Parsnip cooked 3 ways!

I won this giant parsnip in a competition to guess its weight. I didn’t guess correctly but won the runner up prize of the parsnip itself. The challenge was- what on earth to do with it?

I decided to try 3 different experiments in the hope that one of them would pay off.  I wanted to try completely different recipes to show the versatility of the humble parsip.  Cake, crisps and soup.  You can’t really get more different that that.

The cake was probably the biggest risk. I have used carrots, courgettes and even mashed potato in cakes so i knew that vegetables can work- but parsnips?

The spicy curried parsnip soup has a real kick with the chilli and the creamed coconut gives it a perfect creamy balance to the spice without using rich double cream.

The crisps were spicy and delicious on their own but also made an unusual county topping for the soup!

Here are the recipes that I created:

Parsnip and lime cake

• 200g soft brown sugar
• 200g butter
• 4 eggs
• ½ tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsps milk
• 200g plain flour
• 2 tsps baking powder
• pinch of salt
• Zest of a lime
• 200g parsnips (peeled and grated)

For the drizzle

• 50g sugar
• juice of a lime

Instructions

• Cream together the butter and sugar
• Mix in the eggs, milk, maple syrup and lime zest
• Mix in the flour, salt, and baking powder
• Add the grated parsnip and mix well
• Pour into a prepared loaf tin
• Bake at 175C for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean

Parsnip crisps

• Parsnips
• 2 tblsps oil (I used the oil from a jar of sundried tomatoes)
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp smoked paprika

Instructions

• Peel the parsnips
• Use the peeler to make thin crisps
• Place in a plastic bag
• Add the oil and spices
• Mix together well to ensure all the slices are coated equally
• Spread evenly on baking trays
• Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden and crisp

Spicy curried parsnip soup 

• 400g parsnips- peeled and chopped
• 1 leek- sliced
• 2 tsps curry powder
• 1 clove garlic- peeled and finely chopped
• ½ red chilli- finely chopped
• 50g creamed coconut
• 1 litre vegetable stock

Instructions

• place all the ingredients except the creamed coconut in a pan
• bring to the boil and simmer until the parsnips are soft
• and the creamed coconut
• use a hand blender to create a smooth consistency