Parsnip and Chestnut Loaf

We live in abundant times.  I know that politically, economically, ecologically speaking we are teetering on very thin ice, but the truth is that we in the west have so much wealth of choice that we don’t quite know what to do with it.  Food is a prime example.  We have more choice and more information than we know what to do with and yet we still struggle to make healthy, viable, sustainable choices on a day-to-day basis.  I am not here to lecture; I am as guilty as the next person for picking and choosing my ethics but I do think that what is needed is a greater balance.

Everything in moderation, including moderation.  That’s what my grandpa used to say and I believe he had a fair point.  Food is a fundamental part of our existence; we need it every day to give us the energy to live.  But eating is also an inherently social act.  It brings together friends, family, even strangers and offers us pleasure and sustenance.  Good cooking finds a balance between creating foods that fuel us while also providing tastes that sate us.  It seems natural, dare I say, organic, that we find a balance between what we have on offer to us and the better choices we can make.

One way to try and strike this balance is to eat with the seasons.  In years passed eating with the seasons was the natural way to source food and yet in this day and age, when you can purchase any fruit and vegetable, at anytime of the year, seasonal eating has lost a lot of its meaning.  This topic alone raises further issues: for example, only 60% of the food consumed in Britain comes from the UK.  This makes us extremely reliant on outside sources and trade, and so in turn we are subject to varying ethics, economy and food standards.  This isn’t to say that trade or import are bad things, but it does raise the question of why we are shipping in raspberries from Chile in December but ignoring our own supply of luscious, ripe pears grown right here in England?  If we all ate seasonally 60% of the time (again, balance) we would be providing ourselves and families with fresher, better quality ingredients, packed full of flavour and nutrition.  I don’t think you can say fairer than that.

This seasonal take on a nut roast is a brilliant vegetarian Christmas option – the meatiness of the chestnuts is offset by the sweet-sharp tang of the cranberries and the honey sweetness of the parsnips.  It is so delicious that I think you’ll find everyone tucking in, carnivore or no.  Serve with all the roast trimmings and a good dollop of cranberry sauce.

PARSNIP AND CHESTNUT LOAF

Serves 4 - 6

You will need a 1lb loaf tin for this recipe

500g parsnips

200g cooked and peeled chestnuts

100g cooked rice

50g dried cranberries

50g walnuts

1 onion

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp honey

½ tsp mace

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

Preheat the oven to 180c (160c Fan) and lightly grease and line your loaf tin.  Peel the parsnips and cut into 1cm cubes.  Place the parsnips in a roasting tin with 1½ tbsp of the olive oil and the honey.  Mix until well coated, season and then cover the tin tightly in foil.  Bake in the oven for 35 minutes until the parsnips are tender to a knife point but not crisp.  Once cooked, remove from the oven and set aside.

While the parsnips are cooking, peel and finely chop the onion.  Add the remaining olive oil to a frying pan and gently sauté the onion until very soft – this will take around 15 minutes.  Finely chop the walnuts, cranberries and chestnuts (alternatively, you can blitz them in a food processor) and place in a large mixing bowl. 

Turn up the heat of the oven to 200c (180c Fan).  Now take half the parsnips and mash them with a fork until they make a rough puree.  Add the softened onion, roast parsnips, cooked rice, mace, thyme and the mashed parsnips to the walnuts, cranberries and chestnuts.  Season well and then, using your hands, spend a good few minutes smooshing the ingredients together until they bind into one large ball of mixture – you can be fairly rough with it at this stage.  Place the mixture into your loaf tin and pack down so that it fills every corner.  Smooth over the top and then cover with foil.  Bake in the oven for 45 minutes then allow to cool slightly in its tin before turning it out on to a serving dish or board. 

Comments

[Julia]

so delicious and very christmassy, love this and the combination of tastes.

[InTolerant Chef]

Parsnips are so very sweet, I just love them.
I understand what you mean , It frustrates me when we have such a huuuuuge variety of fresh food available, year round in our climate, but buy in crappy sprayed imported stuff that has been in cold storage. A lot of our orange farmers plowed their trees into the ground because the frozen foriegn juice was sold cheaper than they could produce it. In Australia we have such a variety of temperature zones that their is no excuse for not eating seasonally. Most of the 'staples' are here all year, you just might need to look for them.