Now, whenever I think of a Christmas dinner, one of the first things that ever spring to mind are roasted parsnips. They are absolutely delicious. I love that natural sweetness. One of the ultimate roasted vegetables.
To prepare them, very simply, just top and tail the parsnips, and then using a peeler, just peel away that outer skin, and if there is any little blemishes or little imperfections, just run that peeler over it a couple of extra time or use a small knife to carve it out.
Carrots and parsnips are very, very similar vegetables. They come from the same family, but parsnips, believe it or not, actually contain more dietary fiber and more vitamins than carrots actually do. That's a very unknown fact.
Now, to prepare them, what we are going to do is we are going to roast them today. So very simply, just chop them into even size pieces. Now, this is very important to ensure that they cook at the same speed, and that they all end up perfectly golden brown. Be generous with the pieces, don't cut them into little miserable portions; you want a nice size piece of parsnips, so you can really bite into them, and they are absolutely delicious.
Now, very simply, on there with a little bit of olive oil, that's just to stop them from sticking to the bottom of the tray, because those natural sugars will release and they will have a lovely natural sweetness. In there with the generous amount of seasoning, the salt will draw out even more of that flavor. Some fresh thyme leaves, a lovely robust herb that's going to stand up to the cooking, and then crucially, the home run, the winning ingredient, honey.
Get lots of that in there, toss it all together, because that's going to combine with the natural sugars in the parsnips, and that's what's going to give that lovely golden brown and natural sweetness. Toss them all around to make sure that it's evenly distributed, and pop them into the oven at 180 degrees Centigrade or 360 degrees Fahrenheit, for about 30 minutes.
When they come out of the oven, just release them from the tray using your tongs, and you will see that you have ended up with a perfect accompaniment to Christmas dinner, it's roasted parsnips.
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