POLENTA PARSNIPS
Coated in crunchy, golden polenta, then drizzled with honey or maple syrup. These roasted parsnips will be the crispiest ones you’ll ever eat.
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
Leave the polenta and salt coating off little one’s parsnips if under 10 months. Add the parsnips to the pan and add in the oil only. Then take a couple of the thinnest parsnip pieces and turn them around in the oil. Push them to one corner of the pan. Then add the polenta and seasoning to the rest and toss well. For under 1’s, remove their parsnips from the pan when you take them out to add the honey or syrup, they should be cooked through at this point.
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
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.
Nutrition
Calories: 217kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 13mgPotassium: 485mgFiber: 6gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 16IUVitamin C: 21mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 1mg
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