Spelt is an ancient grain with a nutty attractive flavour.
These plump cooked grains flatter the sweet cooked parsnip, bitter radicchio and the walnuts. Adding grains to gratin dishes can give ballast and easily swell a dish to feed more mouths.
Parsnips baked with pearled spelt, radicchio, crème fraîche and walnuts
This recipe puts a modern twist on a Christmas classic - the parsnip. Here's how to make parsnips with creme fraiche and walnuts
Published: December 1, 2018 at 4:19 pm
Ingredients
- 600g Parsnips
- 200ml Creme fraiche
- 150g Pearled spelt or pearl barley
- ½ Large radicchio
- ½tbsp Fresh thyme leaves
- 2tsp Dijon mustard
- 50g Shelled walnuts, roughly chopped
- ¼ Nutmeg, grated
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Butter
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180° and use a little butter to grease a medium-sized gratin dish.
Step 2
Peel the parsnips and slice into chunky batons. If they are especially large, cut the hard core out.
Step 3
Boil the batons in plenty of salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes, and when tender, drain well in a colander. Reserve the water.
Step 4
Put the water back in the pan and add the spelt, topping up with more water if necessary. Bring the water to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until tender – about 15-20 minutes. Drain the spelt well and keep about three tablespoons of this cooking water.
Step 5
Roughly chop the radicchio into broad ribbons.
Step 6
Arrange the cooked spelt and parsnips together with the radicchio in the buttered gratin dish. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 7
Mix the crème fraiche, mustard and about three tablespoons of cooking water to loosen together with a pinch of salt.
Step 8
Spoon the crème fraiche mixture over the gratin dish.
Step 9
Grate the nutmeg over the gratin dish. Add the walnuts and the thyme leaves.
Step 10
Dot the top of the gratin dish with a few cubes of butter.
Step 11
Cook in the hot oven for about 20 minutes until golden in places and piping hot.
Step 12
Remove from the oven, rest for a little and serve.
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Polly Webster
