Rebecca’s Recipe of the Week: Superlative Parsnips | Canalside Community Food

This is EXACTLY what you need to eat on Easter Sunday.* Whatever else you’re serving, this will make it even better. The recipe comes from Abra Berens, who recommends accompanying it with grilled duck breast and radicchio. It’s also pretty super spread on a piece of toast.

Parsnip Purée
Serves 4.

Ingredients
120ml olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and cut into thin slices
250ml white wine
900g parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
2 teaspoons salt
250ml double cream (although we in fact substituted oatmilk)
2 star anise
Zest of one orange

Preparation
In a medium saucepan, heat a generous glug of the oil over very low heat. Add the onion and cook until very soft, for about 15 minutes.

Add the wine, and continue to cook until it’s almost completely evaporated.
Add the parsnips and salt, and toss together.

Add the cream, the remaining olive oil, and star anise. Bring to a boil, the reduce the heat so that the mixture simmers gently. Cover and cook until the parsnips are falling-apart tender, about 15 minutes more. Remove the star anise.

Purée the mixture (liquid and all) until it is very smooth. Add the orange zest and enjoy.

Recipe adapted from Abra Berens, Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables (2019).

*I expect you can work it into a Seder as well…