We LOVE parsnips with our roasts. And the crispier the better. These crispy honey roast Polenta Parsnips have a secret ingredient which guarantees super crunchiness every time. We are going to coat them in a little oil, then in crunchy, golden like the sun polenta. On top of that, we are going to drizzle of maple syrup or honey over them to take the sweetness up a notch. And they go perfectly with ANY roast dinner. You are going to love them!
What is Polenta?
For those who don’t know exactly what polenta is, it is maize (corn) that is ground down into coarse flour or meal. It’s deep yellow in colour and slightly sweet in flavour. Its coarse texture, makes it the perfect crunchy coating. And because it’s made of corn, it’s naturally gluten-free. It’s very similar to cornmeal used in the US, it’s just a bit coarser so it stays crispier when you use it as a coating. It’s pretty readily available everywhere these days, you should be able to buy it in most supermarkets.
Preparing my Polenta Parsnips in Advance for Christmas or Thanksgiving
Cooking a roast with all the trimmings is time consuming, so I like to make my life a little easier on cook day by prepping as much as I can the day before. Usually I peel and chop all my root vegetables and put them in large food containers or bowls full of cold water. This stops prepared parsnips and potatoes going brown, and keeps chopped carrots nice and fresh. Then just drain around 20 minutes before cooking.
Kids Cook Too
Let the kids get their hands messy by tossing the parsnips in the oil and polenta.
Feed a Crowd
This recipe is easily doubled if you are entertaining friends or family, just be sure to use a large roasting pan.
Storing My Polenta Parsnips
You can store leftover roast parsnips in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days (cook day + 2). You can also freeze them, just defrost them for 24 hours in the fridge before you reheat. If you reheat them in the microwave they will lose much of their crispiness. Alternatively, reheat them in the oven on a lightly greased baking tray and at whatever temperature the oven is cooking the rest of the food for 8-10 minutes. Alternatively, reheat in the air fryer at 200ºc / 390ºf for around 5 minutes.
For more on safe food storage and reheating read here >
Diet Details
My Polenta Parsnips are gluten-free, nut-free, vegetarian and vegan.
My Polenta Parsnips Pair Perfectly With…
Adapting My Polenta Parsnips for Your Family
Eating together is beneficial for families of all ages and stages, for a multitude of reasons; nutritional, behavioural, psychological and for healthy family functioning. This section will show you how to tweak these Polenta Parsnips for sharing with a weaning baby, toddler or a fussy eater, to help make it easier for you to eat together as a family.
Keeping Picky Eaters Happy
Children tend to like parsnips because of their sweetness. They also tend to like foods that are crispy. If you aren’t sure about the coating for your fussy eater, you can always leave a few pieces of parsnip to the side of the pan, coated in just oil and not the polenta.
See more from me on fussy eaters here >
Making Them Baby & Toddler Friendly
We need to tweak this recipe slightly for little ones. The best thing to do is to leave the polenta coating and the salt off a few parsnips pieces for them. Add all the parsnips to the pan and add in the oil only. Then take a couple of the thinnest parsnip pieces, turn them around in a little of the oil and set aside for now. Next, add in the polenta and seasoning to the pan and toss the rest of the parsnips in it. Then add the plain parsnips back into the pan, in a corner. If your little one is under 1 year old, remove their parsnips from the roasting pan when you take them out the oven to add the honey or syrup, they should be cooked through at this point, especially if you select the thinnest pieces. Babies under 12 months should not be given honey.
How to Serve to Babies & Toddlers
BABY-LED WEANING
Baby-led weaners can eat the thinner parsnip sticks as is. Otherwise slice in half lengthways thicker parsnip pieces for them.
SPOON-FEEDING
If you are spoon-feeding your little one, I recommend you prepare their serving as follows:
6 months
Roughly chop the uncoated parsnip and add to your stick blender pot, or food chopper (one that purées) along with the rest of little one’s meal and whizz into a purée. Add a little warm boiled water to loosen and a drop of gravy or low-salt stock.
7-12 months
Mash the uncoated parsnip pieces with the back of a fork. You may need to fork out the inside if the outside is too tough to mash. Alternatively, roughly chop along with the rest of baby’s meal and whizz in your food chopper until finely chopped for 7-9 month olds, or go for a more lumpy, chopped consistency for 10-12 month olds. Add a little warm boiled water and a drop of gravy or low-salt stock to loosen as needed.
1 year +
Chop the parsnips into bite-size pieces using a sharp knife and fork.
I’ve also added these notes at the bottom of the recipe so you have them to hand when you come to cook.
See more on how I keep my family meals baby & toddler friendly here >
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POLENTA PARSNIPS
Equipment
- Chef’s knife + chopping board + peeler
- Scales + measuring spoons
- Tongs or turner
Ingredients
- 500 g parsnips peeled & trimmed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons polenta divided into 2 + 1
- Salt & black pepper to taste
- Maple syrup or honey for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200ºc/180ºc fan/400ºf/gas 6. Cut the thinner ends off the parsnips. Leave these whole if skinny, if thick, slice them in half lengthways. Then slice the thicker top end into half (or quarters if very large). Add the parsnips to a medium roasting tray. Drizzle with the oil toss well.
- Then sprinkle over 2 tablespoons of the polenta, salt and black pepper. Toss the parsnips until fully coated. Then arrange in one layer with little gaps around each piece. Sprinkle over the other 1 tablespoon of polenta.
- Transfer to the oven and roast for 30 minutes, then turn them over. Roast for a further 10 minutes and then drizzle with maple syrup or honey. If using honey, just add a light drizzle or the parsnips will be too sweet. You can be more generous (I prefer to use maple syrup and drizzle it down the length of each parsnip). Return to oven for a further 10 minutes, until golden and crispy. After 10 minutes if you like, you can remove them from the oven and turn the parsnips onto a third edge (or back to the original side for those pieces that don’t have a third edge to crisp). Transfer back to the oven for a final 5 minutes.
Notes
PREP AHEAD
Can be prepped the earlier in the day or day before and then kept in the fridge in an air-tight container full of cold water, to keep them from going brown.Baby & Toddler
BABY-LED WEANING
They can eat these thinner parsnip sticks as is.SPOON FEEDING
6 months roughly chop the parsnip and add to stick blender pot, along with the rest of their meal and purée. Add a little warm boiled water and a drop of gravy or low-salt stock to loosen. 7-12 months mash the parsnip with the back of a fork. Alternatively, roughly chop along with the rest of baby’s meal and whizz until finely chopped for 7-9 month olds, or go for a more lumpy, chopped consistency for 10-12 month olds. Add a little warm boiled water and a drop of gravy or low-salt stock to loosen as needed. 1 year + chop the parsnip into bite-size pieces using a sharp knife and fork.STORAGE
Nutrition
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