Parsnips and Cox's apples caramelised in honey, cumin and thyme butter, baked under crisp puff pastry and turned out glossy side up, with sharp cheddar melted through.
Parsnips and Cox's apples. Peak season: autumn and winter. Parsnips and Cox's apples come in at the same time of year and want the same treatment: butter, honey and a hot pan until they turn amber. Cox's hold their shape and keep a sharp edge, so the tart never tastes sickly. The cheddar is the old Yorkshire habit of cheese with apple pie.
Box swaps: Russet apples work in place of Cox's. Got swede or carrots instead of parsnips? Cut them into batons and parboil for 6 to 8 minutes, until just tender at the edges.
Serves 4 · Prep 20 min · Cook 45 min
You'll need
- 450g parsnips, peeled, quartered lengthways, woody cores cut out
- 2 Cox's apples, cored and cut into 8 wedges
- 30g butter
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 80g mature cheddar, grated, vegetarian if needed
- 1 sheet of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry, about 320g
- salt and black pepper
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Simmer the parsnips in salted water for 5 minutes, until just tender at the edges. Drain and leave to steam dry.
- Melt the butter in a 24cm ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Add the honey, cumin seeds, half the thyme and the cider vinegar and let it bubble for 1 minute, until it smells toasty and looks syrupy.
- Arrange the parsnips and Cox's apples snugly in the pan, cut side down, in a wheel. Cook without stirring for 8 to 10 minutes, until the undersides are golden and the syrup has darkened to amber. Season well and take off the heat. Scatter over three quarters of the mature cheddar.
- Lay the puff pastry over the pan, trim it to a circle a little larger than the pan and tuck the edges down inside. Prick it a few times with a knife. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until puffed and deep golden.
- Rest for 5 minutes. Put a board or plate over the pan and, holding both with oven gloves, turn it over in one go. The syrup is very hot. Scatter with the rest of the cheddar and thyme, and taste a corner for salt.
Serve with: a bitter leaf salad with a mustard dressing.
Or make it as a galette
Puff pastry galette
Unroll the pastry onto a lined tray and score a 2cm border. Scatter half the cheddar inside the border, arrange the parboiled parsnips and raw apple wedges on top, then spoon over the melted butter, honey, cumin, thyme and vinegar. Bake at 200°C (180°C fan) for 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges are puffed and deep golden, then finish with the rest of the cheddar.
Storage and prep
How do I store parsnips so they last?
Keep them in the fridge salad drawer, loose or in a paper bag. A parsnip that has gone a little bendy is still fine to cook.
Do I need to peel parsnips?
Small, young parsnips only need a scrub. Larger ones are best peeled, and if the core is woody, cut it out after quartering them lengthways.
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