Denise says:

  • This is a delicious vegan main course.  Parsnips are in season from November through to April and particularly good value with 1kg costing about £1.
  • Some supermarkets even offer the ‘wonky’ variety which are even more reasonable.
  • Since this recipe requires the vegetable to be chopped and grated choosing the wonky variety does not matter. Parsnips are loaded with vitamins and packed with subtle flavours.

Ingredients:

  • 150g basmati rice
  • 1 vegetable stock cube or 1 tablespoon vegetable stock powder
  • 75g red lentils
  • 700g parsnips - peeled – of which 200g grated and remainder (550g) cut into long chunky wedges
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 orange – zest & juice
  • 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 3 red onions – sliced
  • 1 teaspoon each turmeric, ground coriander and paprika
  • 100g raisins – soaked in 50ml water
  • Juice and zest of ½  lemon
  • Garnish 
  • 2-3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
  •      Sprigs of fresh parsley – roughly chopped

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/ 180C fan.
  2. Place the rice and lentils in a deep saucepan together with 600ml water and stock cube/powder. Simmer for 5 minutes covered. Set aside.
  3. Line a baking tray with baking parchment paper.
  4. Add the chunky parsnips, orange zest and juice, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, drizzle with olive oil and season well.
  5. Roast for 30 minutes then add the maple syrup and roast for a futher 5 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a deep saucepan. Sauté the onions until soft, stir in the remaining cumin and the rest of the spices.
  7. Add the grated parsnips, raisins and then stir in the rice mixture with the lemon zest and juice.
  8. Cook covered for 8-10 minutes on a low heat.
  9. Garnish with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds and chopped parsley.
To serve spread the rice on a platter, top with the parsnip wedges,
Tagged in: Basmati Rice, Coriander, Cumin Seeds, dinner, Indian, lemon, Lunch, Moroccan, orange, Paprika, Parsnips, pomegranate seeds, Raisins, Red Lentils, Sephardi, Turmeric, Vegan