Читать книгу Vegetables - Sophie Grigson, Sophie Grigson - Страница 35

This is a terrific supper dish. Ham and parsnip are happy bedfellows, but need a good dose of spiky mustard in the sauce to bring them to life.

Serves 4

8 wee parsnips, or 4 big chunky parsnips

15g (1/2 oz) butter

8 slices very nice cooked ham indeed

30g (1 oz) Parmesan, freshly grated

Sauce

30g (1 oz) butter

30g (1 oz) plain flour

600 ml (1 pint) milk

2 tablespoons coarse-grain or Dijon mustard

salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6.

Peel the parsnips. Boil small ones whole until just tender. With great big boys, you’ll need to quarter them lengthways and cut out the tough cores, before boiling them until just tender. As soon as the parsnips are cooked, drain, run under the cold tap and then drain again, really, really thoroughly.

To make the sauce, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Stir over a gentle heat for about 1 minute, then draw off the heat. Gradually stir in the milk, just a slurp at a time until you have a thick, smooth cream, then add more generously, stirring it in well each time. Bring back to the boil, stirring and scraping the bottom and sides of the pan. Let the sauce simmer genteely now, for a good 5–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened pleasingly. Mix in the mustard, salt, pepper and a keen grating of nutmeg. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Butter a baking dish with a little of the 15g (¹/₂ oz) butter, and spoon a little of the sauce into the dish. Wrap the small parsnips individually in slices of ham. With the larger, quartered ones, wrap two quarters together in each slice of ham. Lay the rolls of ham and parsnip side by side in the dish, then pour over the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the top, dot with the remaining butter and slide into the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling. Serve straightaway.