Parsnip and sunflower seed bake

Ingredients

  • 750g large parsnips, peeled and tops trimmed
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 50g butter or 4 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1½ tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 100g breadcrumbs, white or brown
  • 15g sunflower seeds
  • ½ tbsp fresh thyme leaves or fresh rosemary, chopped or ½ tsp dried
  • finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
  • salt and pepper

Method

Prep time: 15 min

Cooking time: 45 min

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas 6.
  2. Chop the lower thinner parts of the parsnips finely (where the parsnip thins down to less than 4cm across).
  3. Slice the wider parts into 2.5cm rings in boiling salted water for 5 minutes. Drain well and arrange in a single layer in a greased shallow ovenproof dish.
  4. Fry the onion, garlic and chopped parsnips slowly in 40g of the butter or 3 tablespoons of the oil until tender. Mix in all of the remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  5. Fill the holes in the parsnip rings with the stuffing, mounding it up over the individual rings. Dot with the remaining butter, or drizzle over the remaining oil.
  6. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Serve.