How do I make PERFECT roast parsnips????

[whinegums]

I can make fantastic roast potatoes, but my 'snips are never quite right.

I've tried parboiling first - not parboiling first - cooking them in with the spuds - cooking them separately - but nothing seems right. Even though I use a non stick (Mermaid hard anodised) roasting tray and plenty of hot oil, they tend to stick and/or break up.

So tell me how to get fab ones please - I want to do them with today's roast!

DH is the roast parsnip expert in our house and he says that they do need to be parboiled, but only a little bit. Depending on how thickly you've cut them, he reckons only about 4-5 minutes at the most and if they feel soft then you've cooked them too much.

He then roasts them in very very hot oil on their own for about 10 minutes - he says as hot as you can get it.

HTH

I do them as Daisy says but always put a drizzle of maple syrup over them 5-10 mins from the end of roasting time - gives them a lovely flavour

dp doesn't par-boil his parsnips, he puts them straight in a very hot oven with hot oil.

He gets quite thin ones and almost over cooks them and they taste quite chocolatey.

When he comes back in the room I'll ask him how long he roasts them for.

they are lush

I was never able to make roast parsnips...however, I discovered that I can do them the SW way, and spray fry light onto parboiled parsnip and that works really well...and they do taste really nice that way...
if I do them the normal way they tend to be far to oily and either end up sorry or burned, lol

dp says half an hour

Thanks all! Maybe it's a bloke thing then. Unfortunately my DP is not the cook in our house.

Duck fat/ goose fat really high temp. Only par boil for a couple of mins. Or the delia on where you roll the par boiled parsnips in a mix or parmesan and flour and then roast in really hot fat (need to be in own tray for this one). Yum. I make great parsnips (DH not the cook in this house either ).

I go for big fat chunky ones as opposed to long thin ones (ooh err missus) 'cos otherwise by the time you've sliced and cored them the resulting thin strips burn very easily and dry up.

Like others have said, parboil for only around 4 mins, and make sure the fat is smoking before putting them in the pan or else they'll probably stick and break up. They normally cook in about half an hour or so in a hot (210-220C) oven.

Par boiling doesn't seem to work for me. Use very hot fat but also put a big lump of butter in as well. This seems to help them to caramalise.

fry light mine too ala Slimming World. Prefer them like that.

Use fat, chunky parsnips. Parboil for 3 mins. Very hot fat, gas mark 7 or equivalent for about half an hour.

Parsnips are evil!!!!!

They sit there pretending to be a lovely roast potato, you take a bite expecting gorgeous fluffiness then..... YUK!!!! you realise you've been fooled again

DH loves them though and he also recommends a bit of maple syrup and hot oil (same for carrots)

oh, I lurve roast parsnips....I had never eaten one until I met dh and came to visit his family....in Germany Pastinaken/Parsnips are a luxury only lentil weaving vegetarians seem to know about....

thinking about it...I better get dinner on...and roast parsnips will be part of it yum

aunt bessies

pmsl

agree aunt bessie is fab

she lives in our freezer, with potatos, stuffing balls,parsnips and yorkies

she makes my life easier!!

I think I have to admit defeat and stock up on Aunt Bessie's. She is obviously far more handy with a parsnip than I am! (