Mary Berry is not only a whizz when it comes to baking she also is fantastic at cooking a range of dishes.
Often sharing nifty cooking tips, this time around Mary has amazed fans with her secret for making the perfect crispy potatoes and parsnips.
While potatoes are essential, parsnips fit perfectly in a Sunday roast dinner. However, smothering them with oil alone doesn’t always make them crispy.
Mary claimed that the best way to ensure roast vegetables come out of the oven with a good crust on them is by adding semolina to the recipe.
The cooking pro uses it on both potatoes and parsnips for a good crunch. She suggests sprinkling semolina onto them for crispiness along with a pinch of thyme, for flavour.
With parsnips still in season, it makes for a fantastic vegetable to add – perhaps to your Easter Sunday roast too.
In a recipe published in Love to Cook, Mary explained: “Crunchy sweet parsnips are the perfect side dish. The addition of semolina gives them a lovely crispy outside.
“With the addition of semolina, these golden parsnips become extra crisp in the oven. Throw some in with your roast potatoes for something a bit different this Sunday.”
Semolina is cheap to buy from supermarkets. A 500g bag retails for just 85p in Asda.
Her parsnip recipe is “easy” and can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Four large parsnips
Three tablespoons sunflower oil
25g semolina
One tablespoon paprika
One tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Method
Cook the parsnips in boiling water for four minutes then drain and leave them to cool.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7 before adding one tablespoon of the oil to a roasting tin and place in the oven for five minutes to get hot.
Add the remaining oil to a bowl. Season the parsnips with salt and black pepper and toss in the oil to coat.
Mix the semolina, paprika and thyme in a small bowl. Add to the parsnips and mix well to coat them in the mixture.
Place the parsnips in one layer in the tin with the hot oil and roast for about 20 minutes, turning over halfway through the cooking time, until golden and crisp.
