If you want to jazz up your parsnips, this is an easy way to do it. It works well when you team this with other oven-baked dishes. You can use carrots or turnips instead of parsnips - and if you wish to add some 'crunch' toss a handful of walnuts over the parsnips shortly before the end of the cooking time.
Ingredients:
700g (1.5 llb) parsnips
1 lime
50g (2oz) butter or vegan sunflower spread (if cooking vegan)
25g (1 oz) light muscovado sugar (if cooking vegan, ensure it's vegan friendly - see Tips and note below)
coarse sea salt and pepper
thyme sprigs to garnish
If you are cooking vegan, ensure your sugar does is not refined using bone char (see Tips). Choose an organic or beet sugar that is vegan friendly, or substitute the sugar with a vegan friendly syrup like Sweet Freedom Fruit Syrup or Lyle's Dessert Syrup. 1 tablespoon of syrup should be sweet enough to equate to 2 tablespoons of sugar, but adjust to your taste.
Instructions:
Peel the parsnips and cut in half lengthwise. (If using older tougher parsnips cut into quarters and remove the woody core.) Add to a pan of boiling salted water and cook for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, using a zester or a vegetables peeler, carefully pare thin slivers of rind from the lime; set aside for the garnish. Halve the lime and squeeze the juice.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan together with the sugar. Add the lime juice and heat gently, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Drain the parsnips thoroughly in a colander, then add the lime mixture in the saucepan. Toss in the buttery lime mixture and cook over a moderate heat, shaking the pan frequently, for approximately 10 minutes until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer to a warmed serving dish and garnish with slivers of lime zest and thyme sprigs.
Recipe adapted to be vegan from Good Housekeeping's Step-by-Step Vegetarian Cookbook