During winter, parsnip is a particular favourite of mine. No array of roast vegetables is complete without caramelised rounds of it sitting in the baking dish next to the carrots, celeriac and potatoes. Made into a puree, it's a perfect accompaniment to rich beef stews or braises, pork belly or duck confit. The 18th-century doyenne of home cookery, Hannah Glasse, recommended salt cod with hard-boiled eggs and parsnip puree mixed with butter and cream.
Ingredients
1 large leek
8 garlic cloves
100g butter
1 large, floury potato
8 parsnips
chicken stock or water
salt
fine white pepper
salami
olive oil
Method
Trim a large leek, discarding the tough base and thick outer leaves. Wash well and slice into thin rounds. Peel and slice 8 garlic cloves and lightly saute with the sliced leek in a soup pot with 100g butter, until soft. Take care not to have the heat up too high so that the vegetables colour. Peel a large, floury potato. Peel and trim 8 parsnips, removing the core if they are a little old. Slice the potato and parsnips into 1cm-thick pieces and add them to the pot. Cover the vegetables with chicken stock or water and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for
30 minutes until the parsnips are soft. Season with salt and fine white pepper, then puree in a food processor. If it's too thick, add a little more stock or water. Slice good salami into fine strips and lightly fry in olive oil until crisp.
To serve