Apple roast vegetables

Ingredients 10 Exquisa potatoes, 2 carrots, 2 parsnips, 2 apples, olive oil, parsley, basil.

Serves: 4 preparation: 1 hour

French, or haute cuisine would have us believe that the success of a dish, depends on the quality of the sauce. Whilst a good sauce can absolutely transform a dish and demonstrate the skill of the chef... it doesn't need to be anything complex to impress. This cooking technique is a combination of Italian-style olive oil roasting and steaming which retains every bit of the flavour of the ingredients and forms a wonderful, tangy apple sauce. Perfect when served with pork as part of a Sunday roast.

1) Slice the potatoes in half, peel the carrot and potato and cut into chunks roughly the same size as the potatoes.

2) Peel and core the apple, then slice into small chunks

3) Toss the apple and vegetables in olive oil, salt, black pepper, freshly chopped parsley and basil, then roast for an hour in a covered dish at 200 degrees. I toss the dish half way through, then again at the end of the hour, causing the softened apple to coat the vegetables like a sauce.

Orange & maple roast parsnips

Ingredients 4 parsnips, 2 oranges, maple syrup

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

I adore parsnips - such a spicy, earthy flavour which caramelises perfectly when roasted. Glazing parsnips with orange juice and maple syrup brings out the natural sweetness and forms a fabulous sticky crust.

1) Rinse but do not peel the parsnips, then slice into chunks. Squeeze the juice from the oranges and pour over the parsnips. Drizzle with maple syrup and stir the parsnips until they are evenly coated

2) Roast in the oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour at 200 degrees until the insides are fluffy and soft and the outsides begin to crisp.

Peanut buttered parsnips

Ingredients Parsnips, peanut butter (I like Whole Earth Foods).

Preparation: 1 hour

I adore parsnips - such a spicy, earthy flavour which caramelises perfectly when roasted. Peanuts with their salty, slightly bittersweetness bring out the natural sweetness of roast parsnip and give them an almost powdery, velvet crust.

1) Rinse but do not peel the parsnips, then slice into chunks. Smooth a thin layer of peanut butter onto each side of the parsnip with your fingers.

2) Roast in the oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour at 200 degrees until the insides are fluffy and soft and the outsides begin to crisp.

Parsnip & leek rostis

Ingredients   1 Parsnip, 20g parmigiano, 1/2 leek, butter, 1/2 an egg.

Serves: 1 Preparation: 20 minutes (plus overnight)


A rosti is a sort of Swiss version of a hash brown. A gorgeous crunchy potato cake with a meltingly soft centre. To get this right it takes a little time, but it's SO worth it. Traditionally made with potatoes, I love the flavour of this parsnip alternative for Christmas.


1) Peel the parsnip and parboil WHOLE for 5 minutes. Allow to cool completely, covered in the fridge (ideally overnight)


2) Grate the parsnip and sprinkle with salt to draw out the moisture, then squeeze in a sieve or colander to extract as much liquid as possible. Dry with kitchen towel.


3) Dice the leek and sautee in a little butter until soft. Allow to cool and then mix into the parsnip with the grated parmeggian and a little of the beaten egg until the mixture is moist enough to hold together. I like to use biscuit cutters to form shapes and pack down the mixture into it, but you can just form a patty with your hands.


4) Add to a frying pan with a little butter and fry, turning continually until the outside is crisp and the centre is fluffy and soft.


Ideal served with my cranberry & orange curd.

Honey roast parsnip & cider soup

Ingredients 6 Parsnips, honey, olive oil, vegetable stock, cider, onions.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 1 hour

I love soup. I find all the chopping, stirring and pureeing very soothing, the warm smells that fill the house comforting, and I love ladling out steamy bowls of soup for people to dunk hot crispy bread into, dressing it with ever more creative croutons or swirls of cream and yoghurt. This winter I have created 10 new soups to warm you through on a cold day. This soup is thick and rich with a lovely sweetness.

1) Peel and finely dice the onion then allow to soften in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the onion is soft add a good glug of cider and allow to simmer. I used Katy by Thatcher's Cider which is GORGEOUS.

2) Peel the parsnips and then slice into chunks, discarding the tops and tails. Add into a roasting dish with a drizzle of honey, olive oil and a sprinkling of salt, ensuring that the parsnips are all covered evenly.

3) Roast for 20 minutes at 200 degrees, stirring after 10 and then puree in a blender until completely smooth.

4) Pass the parsnips through a seive and add to the onions along with the vegetable stock and another glug of cider.

5) Allow to simmer on the hob for a further 10 minutes, seasoning to taste with freshly ground black pepper and salt and then serve.

Vegetable crisps

Ingredients Sweet potato, carrot, beetroot, parsnip, olive oil

Preparation: 20 minutes

I'm not much of a crisp person - I tend to only eat them if I've made dips and need something to scoop up the gloriousness with, and since I discovered Fudge's I've been straying from what I call "posh crisps" (Kettle chips) and been using their nummy flatbreads instead. Now that it's autumn I'm very into flame coloured foods and root vegetables in particular and these vegetable crisps just make me feel like a kid kicking through crunchy leaves in wellingtons.

1) It's entirely up to you whether you peel the vegetables or not. I'm not a big fan of carrot or parsnip peel but I love potato peel so as you can see, mine are a mixture. You do need to peel the beetroot...
To get those thin, ribbons I use the potato peeler to peel the vegetables into strips. You could use a mandolin slicer if you wish but for best effect - go for the peeler.

2) Pat the vegetables dry with some kitchen roll, tedious I know but it really does make all the difference.

3) Either brush the strips with olive oil or pour a little in a bowl and toss them until coated and arrange them on a baking tray.

4) Bake in the oven for 5 - 10 minutes at 200 degrees. Carrot and beetroot will only need 5 minutes but the potatoes and parsnips will need 10.

5) Serve! These are fabulous as croutons in soup or to scoop up some dip. Some suggestions are: cheese & chive, Wensleydale & cranberry, Basil dip, roast pepper & goats cheese, spinach dip, rose tzatziki, avocado tzatziki, aioli, baked camembert, basil hummus and hummus.

Apple & parsnip mash

Ingredients 4 Braeburn apples, 4 parsnips, mature cheddar, butter. Served with Pork loin, creamed cabbage and the mulled red onion and pepper liquor from this recipe.

1) Peel and core the apples, then dice the fruit. Peel and dice the parsnips and boil with the apples in a pan of hot water. Once soft, pulse in a blender (or mash/rice) with a handful of mature cheddar and a knob of butter.

To serve with pork loin and creamed cabbage:

2) Sear the pork loin in a hot pan and then grill for 12 minutes, turning after 6. Drizzle with the mulled red onion and pepper liquor.

3) Chop the cabbage leaves and steam for 5 minutes, melt a teaspoon of butter in a pan and stir through - adding flour and parmeggian to thicken. As the butter begins to sizzle add a dash of double cream and stir through.

Carrot and kiwi soup

Ingredients 6 carrots, 1 butternut squash, 1 sweet potato, 1 parsnip, 2 garlic cloves, 1 pint vegetable stock, sage, 6 kiwi fruit, basil oil, brandy, brown sugar Optional - to garnish grated cheddar

1) Crush 2 cloves of garlic and sautee in basil oil for 1 minute before adding a shot of brandy and a teaspoon of brown muscovado sugar to caramelise the garlic

2) Peel and cube the carrots, parsnip, squash and sweet potato and add into the pan along with a pint of vegetable stock and the chopped sage

3) Simmer for 20 minutes before separating the vegetables from the liquid and pureeing. Pass the puree through a sieve for a smooth liquid and add back into the pan of liquid along with the sliced kiwi

4) After 10 minutes puree a final time and serve with grated cheddar for contrast

Cinnamon, apple and parsnip soup

Ingredients 1 Pint of water, grated cinnamon, 3 parsnips, two pears, four apples, honey/maple syrup, red wine, black peppercorns, rosemary. Optional - to garnish 1 cinnamon stick blueberries double cream

1) Peel the parsnips, apples and pears, remove the cores from the fruit and slice.

2) Bring to the boil one pint of water in your pan. Add the fruit and vegetables along with the ground cinnamon, finely chopped rosemary and 1 glass of red wine.

3) Cook until the fruit is soft, then separate from the liquid with a colander and puree in a blender. Gradually add the water back into the puree until the soup reaches the desired consistency.

4) Flavour with a good dollop of honey or maple syrup, season with freshly ground black pepper and serve.