Jacinthe… irisé, imprévu comme une première jacinthe déchirant doucement son coeur nourricier pour qu’en jaillit, mauve et satinée, sa fleur sonore...
‘Le Côté de Guermantes’, Marcel Proust
Parsnips
Can’t find parsnips? Or just fancy
growing some of your own? Here are a
few notes.
Don’t be afraid to put them into dry soil as
they are capable of tapping 60cm down into
the ground. They are OK in poor soil but a
good one will produce more tender roots. A
neutral (ph6.5) soil is ideal.
Dig deep to avoid forking. Parsnips tend to
fork if the soil is heavy or stony, or if there is
an excess of fresh manure, though they
flourish in organic matter.
Sow from February onwards. Check the
packet for sow-by date as well as distances
and depth. Don’t persuade yourself that old
seeds will do because parsnip seeds are very
fragile. They take a long time to pop up so it’s
not a bad idea to intersow with radishes
which germinate quicky and thus declare
themselves. Radishes also decrust the soil
and will shade the parsnip leaflets. Parsnips
do well alongside carrots and onions, but not
with fennel. Don’t be in a hurry to sow
because later-sown seeds produce smaller,
sweeter, less woody parsnips which will
keep better.
Watering and mulching is important,
especially for those of you living in dry
areas of France.
Parsnips, like sprouts, taste better
after frosts. They don’t, however,
appreciate alternate freezing and
thawing, so don’t simply leave them
in the ground. Store them in sand,
earth or peat in a cold place. An
outdoor layered heap is best:
earth/parsnip layers covered with
straw which is an excellent insulator
(all that air) and topped with patted
earth to prevent
the light straw flying off with the
first wind.
Parsnip problems
• Celery leaf miner. If you spot
tunnels mined in the leaves
look for maggots living there.
To guard against this pest,
spray with 30cc (1 oz) of
paraffin to 4.5l (1 gallon) of
water.
• Cracks in the root tops
let in fungi which lead to
rot. This happens mainly
in large parsnips, so this
is another reason to sow
later. Acid soil
or soil with too much fresh manure
doesn’t help.
• Rust fungus appears as a rusty mould on
the crowns. Mix two thirds lime to one third
sulphur and sprinkle this around the plants on
the soil. Avoid growing parsnips in this patch
for five years.
We had tried growing our own parsnips
but they tended to be woody and so we gave
them a miss for a few years. Then we found
some in our local fruit and veg shop (inland
Gironde). The owner started growing them
just for us Brits. One of
these ex-pats told me
that she had a
delicious
parsnip
recipe, but
before I’d
had a
chance to
get it off
her Anne La
Carotte
herself passed
me a recipe. I
cooked it up the
following day. I might
say it was scrummy.
Telling my friend and
about to ask for her recipe to
see how it differed, “You’ll find
it identical,” she said, “it was I
who gave the recipe to Anne La
Carotte in the first place.”
Anne La Carotte’s parents’ farm is
in the valley of the Dropt, where the
sandier soil is ideal for carrots and
parsnips. I used to buy carrots wherever I
could at the market. A few years ago we
sliced up all the market growers’ carrots and
had a dégustation at the bar. Anne’s won,
hence her name Anne La Carotte.
Purée of parsnip soup
Serves 6:
40g (11/2 oz) butter or margarine
125g (4 oz) onion, sliced
700g (11/2 lb) parsnips, peeled and finely
diced
(core them if necessary)
5ml (1 level tsp) curry powder
2.5ml (1/2 level tsp) ground cumin
1.4l (21/2 pints) light stock
Salt and pepper
Melt the butter in a large saucepan (add
a little oil to prevent burning) and fry the
onion and parsnips for about three minutes.
Stir in the spices and carry on for a further
two minutes. Add the stock and bring to the
boil, reduce the heat and cover and simmer
for about 45 minutes until the veg is tender.
Whizz up. You may well need to add a little
more stock here. Adjust seasoning, make
sure it’s warm enough, or reheat and
bon appetit.
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