Currabinny Cooks: An easy parsnip, thyme & cheddar bread
Parsnip, thyme and cheddar bread is a recipe to make when there’s a good soup simmering on the hob
It has been frosty recently, snowy even on higher grounds. The cold snap may chill the bones a bit, but it also makes for the sweetest root vegetables. Parsnips in particular are perfectly heavenly after a few nights of frost turns the starch to sugar. They have a real depth of taste at this time of year. The roots sit through the winter, gradually improving in sweetness and flavour until they are ready to harvest just at the start of what is known as the ‘hungry gap’ at the end of winter and start of spring.
We love parsnips: there is so much more to them than roasting them with honey to have with your Sunday roast. The common theme with these recipes seems to be the pairing of parsnips with a good strong cheddar cheese. We still have so much cheese in the fridge so its good to use it up in such delicious ways. The moreish combination of earthy, sweet parsnips with something salty like cheese or ham is the way to go with parsnips in our humble opinion.
This is a great little side dish to have with some roast meat or even fish. Derg cheddar is fast becoming our go-to when it comes to Irish cheddar cheese. Derg Farmhouse Cheddar is a raw milk cheese made in the Summer months. Gently made using traditional farmhouse methods. It is left to mature for 9-12 months to give it its distinctive flavour.
- 1 medium onion, sliced very thinly
- 100g butter
- 2 big parsnips, peeled and sliced into thin discs
- 5-6 sprigs of thyme, leaves only
- 120g good strong cheddar
- 100ml good-quality vegetable stock
- Sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Use an ovenproof frying pan or shallow dish and melt half the butter (50g) over medium-high heat.
Add the sliced onion and cook until soft and translucent. Take the pan off the heat and arrange the parsnip on top of the onion in thin layers, sprinkling each layer with salt, pepper, thyme and grated cheese. Do this until you have around three layers of parsnip, topped with a final scattering of cheese, thyme and seasoning. Heat the stock in a small pan and pour it over the dish. Cover loosely with a little baking parchment and place in the oven for 30 minutes and then take the parchment off, returning it uncovered to the oven for another 10 minutes to brown.
Boiled ham is a thing familiar to us all. I often find it a little too salty. A great solution is to boil it in good cloudy apple juice. The sweetness mellows the harsh saltiness of the ham and keeps it nice and moist, as you can use the cooking liquor to pour over the finished dish.
The mash is a satisfying combination of sweet parsnip and warm, slightly spicy Dijon, perfect as an accompaniment to ham, pork, game and other wintry, hearty meats.
Serves 4-6
- 2kg of boneless ham/gammon
- 2 litres of cloudy apple juice
- 12 juniper berries
- 12 black peppercorns
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery stick
- 1 leek
- large bunch of parsley
- 2 bay leaves
- For the mash:
- 800g Parsnips, peeled and cut into small dice
- 80g butter
- 1 tablespoon of good quality French Dijon mustard
- pinch of salt and pepper
- a teaspoon of lemon juice
- a drizzle of rapeseed oil
Place the ham in a large pot and fill with cold water. Bring the water to boil and then take it off the heat. Drain the water and rinse the ham. Return the ham to the pot and pour in the apple juice and bring it slowly to the boil. Cut the leek and celery sticks in half and add to the pot. Cut the carrot into large chunks and add to pot along with the juniper berries which you can crush lightly with a knife and the peppercorns. Add the parsley and bay leaves to the pot also.
When the apple juice has been brought to the boil, turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and scoop off any scum that has formed on the top.
Put the lid askew on the pot and leave simmer for two hours before checking the ham to see if it is cooked through.
Meanwhile, make the parsnip mash. Cut the parsnips into small ¼ inch cubes. Melt the butter and oil in a large pan on a medium heat.
Add the parsnip and stir to coat all of the pieces with butter. Cook for eight to 10 minutes until soft and sticking to the pan. Reduce the heat to low and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. With a potato masher, crush the parsnip into a mash, adding a little more butter if needed. Stir the tablespoon of mustard through.
Leave the ham in the liquid for up to 20 minutes before carving. Cut the ham into thick slices and drizzle with a little of the cooking liquor. Serve this with a good dollop of the mustard parsnip mash on each plate.
Heavy breathing, this is a recipe to make when there’s a good soup simmering on the hob. Take out of the oven, tear off thick pieces, smother with salty butter and find a comfortable place to sit while you gorge yourself. Bread does not have to be a chore (feeding sourdough starters as if it's a pet). Bread can be a simple dough, thrown together without exertion or stress. This one requires no real effort — no spritzing the oven with water or kneading the dough for hours until you reach the perfect smoothness. This is a rough bread, stuffed with parsnip shavings and grated cheddar, baked in a moderate oven until just about cooked through. Make this just for the joy of it.
- 175g cream flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- Good pinch of sea salt
- 150g parsnip, grated
- 100g strong cheddar, grated
- Good crack of black pepper
- 1 heaped tablespoon of thyme leaves
- 1 medium organic egg, lightly beaten
- 2-3 tablespoons of whole milk
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
In large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, grated parsnip, grated cheese and thyme leaves. Create a 'well' in the mix and drop in your lightly beaten egg. Add two tablespoons of milk and start to bring together the ingredients into a rough dough with your hands.
Add another tablespoon of milk if the dough is too dry or it isn’t quite coming together. Knead it a little in the bowl but not too much and then form into a round.
Place the rounded dough on a lined baking sheet, with a little bit of olive oil brushed onto it. Place in the oven for 40 - 45 minutes until golden brown on the outside.
