Midweek Meals: 5 ways to glam up humble carrots and parsnips

Root vegetables are still in season - here's how to take hardy Irish-mealtime perennials and give them a glow-up

Carrots and parsnips - unglamourous root veg get their glow-up this season

Moroccan Carrot Salad

This is an easy salad to put together and is a great crowd feeder. It keeps well too, so it’s perfect for lunches during the week.

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 60 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 15 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Middle Eastern

Ingredients

• 500g carrots (or 400g carrots and 100g turnip)

• 30g fresh coriander, leaves and stalks chopped, plus extra to garnish

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin rapeseed oil

• 1 tablespoon harissa sauce or 1/2 tablespoon shop-bought harissa paste

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped preserved lemon (optional)

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• 2 toasted flaked almonds

Method

1. Peel the carrots (and turnip, if using) and grate by hand or in a food processor.

2. In a large bowl, mix the grated carrots with all the remaining ingredients except the almonds.

3. Leave for 1 hour (or overnight in the fridge if you have time) to allow the flavours to marry.

4. To serve, garnish with the chopped roasted almonds and extra coriander leaves.

Andrew Duncan’s Macamore Buffalo Carpaccio, Mount Leinster Raw Milk Cheddar, Pickled Baby Carrots, Basil Aioli, Hazelnuts

Special thanks to Andrew Duncan from Table Forty One Restaurant, Main Street in Gorey who shared this recipe - tablefortyone.ie

Servings

6

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• Buffalo Carpaccio:

• 300g centre cut of buffalo fillet, from macamorebuffalo.ie

• 5g fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped

• 5g fennel seeds

• 5g ground ginger

• 5g ground nutmeg

• 5g ground cloves

• 10g ground white pepper

• 5g ground coriander

• 5g ground cinnamon 20g caster sugar 10g Achill Island sea salt

• Pickled Baby Carrots:

• 10 baby carrots, peeled, leaving the green top on them 100ml white wine vinegar 100ml water 100ml granulated sugar pinch of sea salt 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 shallot, peeled and sliced

• 1 sprig of fresh thyme

• Basil Aioli:

• ¼ clove of garlic, finely chopped into a paste

• 2 egg yolks, organic or free-range eggs are best 1 tsp Dijon mustard 300ml Irish extra-virgin rapeseed oil. I use a local brand called Wild About.

• 50g fresh basil leaves ½ unwaxed lemon, zest only

• pinch of Achill Island sea salt

Method

1. Buffalo Carpaccio:

2. Mix all the dry cure ingredients; this should be a dry, sandy texture.

3. Rub the dry cure onto the buffalo fillet, making sure to coat it evenly.

4. Place on a tray, cover in clingfilm, and leave in the fridge for 6 hours; turn once and leave for another 6 hours.

5. Remove the fillet from the tray and place on some kitchen paper. There should be some liquid in the bottom of the tray. This is normal as the sugar and salt draw moisture from the fillet.

6. With some kitchen paper or a clean towel, dry off any excess moisture from the fillet.

7. Place a double layer of clingfilm onto your counter and place the fillet in the middle.

8. Roll as tightly as possible in clingfilm and twist both ends of the film to make a cylinder shape. Return to the fridge for 2 hours, allowing the fillet to rest and be easier to slice.

9. Slice as thinly as possible using a very sharp knife. A handy tip to aid slicing is to place your fillet in the freezer for 20-30 minutes before slicing.

10. Pickled baby carrots:

11. Slice the carrots in half lengthways and place them into a medium-sized bowl.

12. Bring the rest of the ingredients to the boil in a medium-sized saucepan, making sure to dissolve all the sugar.

13. Pour the hot pickling liquid over the carrots and allow them to cool.

14. Basil Aioli:

15. Place the garlic paste, egg yolk and mustard into a blender. Turn the blender on a low setting and slowly dribble in the oil.

16. Once blended in a quarter of the oil and you see the mixture is thick and emulsified, you can increase the speed and add the rest in larger amounts.

17. Blend in the fresh basil leaves and lemon zest.

18. Season to taste with sea salt.

19. To Serve:

20. Place five slices of thin Buffalo onto the centre of the plate, making a petal shape by layering one over the other at the edges.

21. Dot the aioli randomly over the Buffalo. Place five pieces of baby carrots on top.

22. Using a vegetable peeler, shave your Mount Leinster cheddar over the plate, 6-7 slices approx.

23. Scatter over some chopped hazelnuts.

24. The plate should look rustic and flat on the plate. I like to garnish this dish with some microcress and a bit of smoked Achill Island sea salt for a special touch.

Roasted spiced carrots with flatbreads

This is a wonderful little vegetarian lunch to whip up during a busy week. It might seem complicated making your own flatbreads (by all means buy them if you wish) but we promise it couldn’t be easier if you plan ahead.

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 18 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 58 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds

• 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds

• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly

• 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds

• 1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds

• Two springs of rosemary

• Two sprigs of thyme

• Good vegetable stock (around 150ml)

• 6 medium sized carrots, peeled and halved lengthways

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

• Sea salt

• Pinch of chilli flakes (optional)

• For the flatbread:

• 125g strong white bread flour

• ½ teaspoon of quick dried yeast

• 2 teaspoons of olive oil

• 80ml of water (approx)

• 1 teaspoon of sea salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. First make the flatbreads by combining the flour, yeast, sea salt and oil in a large bowl. Slowly pour the water in until the dough comes together. You may not need all of the water. The dough should be a little sticky but not too sticky to handle. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead for around 5 minutes until the dough is soft. Place back into the cleaned-out bowl and place a tea towel over it while you make the rest of the dish.

3. Toast the coriander, fennel and cumin seeds in a dry pan over medium high heat for a couple of minutes until fragrant. In a large bowl mix together the carrots, toasted spices, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sliced garlic, olive oil, chilli flakes if using and a good pinch of sea salt. The carrots and seeds should all be well coated in spices and seasoning. Tip out into a medium sized roasting tin along with the rosemary and thyme and place in the oven for around 35-40 minutes. You should toss everything around the pan a couple of times during the cooking.

4. Cook the flatbreads in the meantime. Turn the dough back onto your work top and divide into 4 pieces, shaping each one into a ball with your hands. Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Using your fingers, tease the balls into flatbreads, as you would pizza dough. Place on the hot pan in batches, 2 minutes each side.

5. Remove the carrots from the oven and serve with the flatbreads.

Parsnip with feta and smoked garlic

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

Smoked garlic can be used in most of the ways that you use roasted garlic. It has that intensely smoky flavour and smell. You can find some Irish producers such as Drummond House who smoke elephant garlic using oak wood chips for 36 hours

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 4 good-sized parsnips

• 2 red onions

• 2 medium-sized carrots

• 6-8 sprigs of thyme

• Whole head of smoked garlic

• 200g feta

• Sea salt and black pepper

• Olive oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C Peel the onions carrots and parsnips. Cut the onions into quarters, keeping the root intact.

2. Cut the parsnip into large chunks and do the same with the carrots. Place the vegetables into a roasting tin.

3. Break the smoked garlic bulb and scatter the cloves all around and in and amongst the vegetables. Scatter the thyme sprigs on top and drizzle a good glug of olive oil (around 5-6 tablespoons) over the whole lot. Season with sea salt and black pepper and place in the oven for around 40 minutes until everything is well roasted and the parsnips are well browned.

4. Squish the smoked garlic flesh out of their papery skins and remove the woody thyme sprigs from the roasting tray.

5. Return the smoked garlic flesh to the roasting tray and stir around into the oil and vegetables so that it starts to coat everything.

6. Divide the vegetables between two bowls and crumble the feta over before serving.
   
   Photograph: Bríd O'Donovan

Parsnip and maple syrup cake with parsnip crisps

recipe by:Darina Allen

The cutest cake and also delicious with parsnip crisps piled on top.

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 45 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 5 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 175g (6oz) butter, plus extra for greasing

• 110g (4oz) Demerara sugar

• 100ml (3 1/2fl oz) maple syrup or honey

• 3 large organic eggs

• 250g (9oz) self-raising flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 2 teaspoons mixed spice

• 175g (6oz) parsnips, peeled and grated

• 1 medium eating apple, peeled, cored and grated

• 50g (2oz) pecans or hazelnuts, roughly chopped

• zest of 1 small orange

• 1 tablespoon orange juice

• For the garnish:

• parsnip crisps (strips of parnsip deep-fried until golden)

• icing sugar, to serve

•  

• For the filling:

• 300g (10oz) cream cheese

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

• 2 x 20cm (8 inch) deep sandwich tins buttered and lined with parchment paper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

2. Melt the butter, sugar and maple syrup in a pan over a gentle heat, then cool slightly. Whisk the eggs into the mixture, then stir into the flour, baking powder and mixed spice. Next add the grated parsnip, apple, chopped pecans, orange zest and freshly squeezed juice. Divide between the two tins or pour into the loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until just starting to shrink from the sides of the tin. Cool on a wire rack.

3. Just before serving, mix the cream cheese and maple syrup together. Spread over the base of one cake and top with the other. Alternatively, if making in a loaf tin, spread icing over the top of the cake to decorate.

4. Garnish with parsnip crisps. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.