veggie recipes

I saw these on the Observer web site tonight Phil and thought of you, they are from Nigel Slater, which is where I found the tomato and goats cheese one from.

They sound delicious!

Roast parsnips with honey and thyme

It is strange, I agree, to add honey to what is already the sweetest of vegetables. All I can suggest is that you try it - you might be surprised at what a bit of 'bee's spit' does for these roots. The thyme is essential here, adding an important herbal note to the general sugar-fest. You need something savoury alongside, and nothing works quite so well here as roast beef. Sausages come a close second. Enough for 6 as a side dish.

6 large parsnips
a thick slice of butter
a little olive or beef dripping
8 sprigs of thyme
4 tsp of honey

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Peel the parsnips and remove the tops. Slice each in half unless they are truly enormous, then quarters might be better. Put them into a roasting tin with a thick slice of butter and a spoonful of olive oil or beef dripping. Season with salt and black pepper then roast for 35-40 minutes until the parsnips are soft and golden. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs and add them to the vegetables with the honey, turning the parsnips over as you go. Continue to roast for 20 minutes or so, till the surface of the vegetables is sticky and golden, the flesh should be soft and tender.



Baked beetroot with goat's cheese and caraway seeds

Winter salads seem to work best when they have a sweet earthiness to them. Beetroot provides the sweetness here, the goat's cheese introducing a certain piquancy - it's a refreshing marriage of flavours. Serves 4 as a light salad or as an accompaniment.

6 medium-sized raw red or golden beetroot
250g goat's cheese

for the dressing:
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
half a tsp of Dijon mustard
5 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp of caraway seeds
slices of dark rye bread to serve

Put the oven on at 200C/gas mark 6. Cut the leaves and stalks from the beetroots then wrap each one loosely in foil or baking parchment. Roast the beetroot for about an hour till tender right through. The only way to test is with a skewer - it should slide through without much pressure. Remove and unwrap the vegetables, peeling off their skins as soon as they are just cool enough to handle.

While the beets are cooling, pour the white wine vinegar into a mixing bowl, add the Dijon mustard, a grinding of salt and black pepper, then beat in the olive oil. Toast the caraway seeds lightly in a dry, non-stick frying pan then add them to the dressing.

Cut each warm, peeled beetroot into thick slices or segments, dropping them into the dressing as you go. Slice the goat's cheese thickly and toss it gently with the beetroots and their dressing.

Serve with dark rye bread.