These roasted parsnips with salted caramel makes the most wonderful Thanksgiving side and they are perfect for Christmas too. The parsnips are cut into long chips and then roasted in the oven until crispy. Once cooked they get a liberal drizzle with store-bought salted caramel sauce and a sprinkle of fresh rosemary. The sweet salty caramel really enhances the sweetness of this delicious root vegetable and I find this encourages the kids to enjoy them too.
Top and tail and peel the parsnips, then cut them in half across the middle. Cut the fat tops in half and then in half again and cut skinnier bottoms in half. (see bulk of post for in-depth pictures)
Place the parsnips in a large pan and cover with boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes and then drain well and let them stand somewhere to steam dry for 5 minutes.
Pour the oil into a large roasting tin and set it in the oven to get hot for 5 minutes whilst the parsnips steam dry.
Remove your tin of oil from the oven and carefully add in your parsnips.
Jiggly the pan a little so the parsnips are well coated with oil.
Roast for 30 minutes, turning the parsnips halfway through until golden and crispy.
Remove the parsnips from the tin and drain on kitchen paper.
Arrange on your platter, drizzle over the caramel sauce, and sprinkle with sea salt and fresh rosemary.
Serve immediately.
Notes
Store bought caramel sauce is fine here, just make sure it is good caramel sauce and not the running cheap ice cream topping. If you want to try making your own try my salted caramel sauce recipe here. (You will not need to use the full teaspoon of salt suggested in this parsnip recipe as your caramel will already be salted. I would reduce the amount to ½ tsp)
If your store bought caramel already has salt in it then reduce the amount of salt you add.