Kem Ormond’s vegetable garden: Parsnips - sweet, earthy and downright delicious

Kem Ormond goes in to bat for the humble parsnip this week. Photo / Paul Taylor

Kem Ormond is a features writer for NZME community newspapers and The Country. She’s also a keen gardener. This week, she’s promoting the pungent parsnip.

OPINION

Poor parsnips; they get such a bad rap.

While the parsnip’s cousin the carrot gets glowing comments said about it, the poor old parsnip often gets taunted, which is terribly unfair.

They don’t rate high in the beauty stakes as they are a little rustic looking but when it comes to sweetness with a touch of earthiness, the parsnip can certainly outdo its cousin.

Parsnips are creamy, tender and sweet, their roots are perfect for roasting, and pureeing, or used in salads and soups.

If you are thinking of just boiling them, however, forget it — you are not doing justice to a vegetable that has just spent four to five months in the ground.

Growing parsnips

Parsnips love soft, pliable soil, so it is well worth spending time getting your planting area well worked over, breaking any lumps of soil, and removing any stones.

Even the smallest stones can cause parsnip roots to fork and become distorted.

They prefer to grow in a warm position with plenty of compost.

Also, they are not afraid of the cold; frost is said to sweeten the flavour of the roots.

First, you need to dig a shallow trough and sow seed around 6mm deep.

Cover, firm down and water well with a fine mist.

You need to keep the soil moist while the seed is germinating, don’t let it dry out.

I have often used a wide plank of wood on top of where I have planted seeds to help stop the soil from drying out, removing the plank when the seeds start to show.

In cooler climates, this is one seed that can be slow to germinate, taking three to four weeks to pop their heads out.

I use fresh seeds every year, as parsnip seeds do not seem to age well, and often poor germination is the result of old seeds.

You will need to thin seedlings after four to five weeks.

You do this by gently pulling out weak seedlings and leaving 7-10cm space between plants.

One thing about parsnips is that they keep very well in the soil, so you can continue to harvest over an extended period.

Once space appears in the rows as you harvest, a clever idea is to put the odd lettuce or rocket in the empty space.

I have always found parsnips are better straight from the ground, as when dug up and stored they get shrivelled and tough and tend to develop a core, which is not nice.

My favourite way to enjoy parsnips is to roast them and put them into a vegetable salad but I do enjoy a good, tasty parsnip soup in the winter.

Popular parsnip varieties include Guernsey, Hollow Crown, Javelin, Supersnip, Tender and True, and Gladiator, to name a few.

Recipe: Favourite parsnip soup

Roasted parsnip and spinach soup. Picture / Babiche Martens

Parsnip soup is so easy to make.

All I do is: in a large pot, I put in a quantity of parsnips, peeled, and chopped.

I then chop up a few onions and a few cloves of garlic.

Add a dash of chilli flakes, vegetable stock, salt and pepper and cook for approximately 25 minutes or until the parsnips are tender.

I then add milk and blend to smooth.

I never measure, I go by taste and texture.

Serve it with some tasty croutons, a dollop of sour cream and a few chopped chives — delicious and easy.