Parsnip Parmesan Bread

I'm currently having a another revival of my Delia Smith books. For those not in the UK, I've written about the TV chef I grew up watching before, but this time round I'm obsessed with her breads in "How to cook book 1". She has a couple of interesting breads; one using potatoes and the other parsnips. Her recipes really are pretty much foolproof; she pays good attention to detail to ensure the end product really does look (and hopefully taste) like hers.

With bread in mind, I got some fresh parsnips at my local farmers market; my town of Suffern is having a fabulous monthly winter market.  I love parsnips but the supermarket ones are usually bendy and thoroughly unappetizing, so I happily snapped up a couple of lbs of the fresh ones.

In addition to the bread, I was planning on making a fantastic parsnip gratin with some of them.  That will have to wait, as my husband and I  enjoyed the bread so much that I made it twice, the second time doubling the recipe. No parsnip gratin this weekend.

As an aside, my kids are not so fond of this bread.; it's got quite an assertive flavor for a 3 year old. I did try the hard sell on "cheesy bread"; it oozes parmesan goodness when still warm, but still "no thank you" was the response. Onwards in my veggie eating quest.

I have changed a few things about this recipe as usual; Delia recommends sage in this recipe but I was all out so I added Dijon mustard. No regrets, although the sage would be delicious. I also subbed in some wholewheat flour and found it needed more milk than her recipe.

Parmesan Parsnip Bread

Ingredients

3/4 cup /4oz self rising flour (see below)
3/4 cup/ 4oz whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6oz peeled and grated parsnips
2 oz Parmesan cheese roughly chopped into 1/4 " cubes
3 tablespoons milk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours salt and baking powder 
3. Add the parsnips and toss together ( I find clean hands work best) 
4. Toss in the cheese and mix again 
5. In a medium bowl, lightly beat together the eggs, milk and mustard 
6. Add the egg mixture to the flour.
7. Mix until just combined; Delia suggests using a pallet knife, I use my hands but with a light touch
8. The dough will be loose and sticky, if it seems too dry (such as in the winter here) add another tablespoon of milk 
9. Form the dough into a ball and place on a floured baking sheet or pizza pallet 
10. Flatten the ball into a disc approx 6" diameter 
11. Cut a cross on the top and place the bread in the oven 
12. Bake for about 50 mins or until golden on top 
13. Cool on a wire rack and serve

I love this with soup or a creamy cheese and sliced apples or pears.

Tips on this recipe:
Don't have self rising flour? For each cup of regular all purpose flour add
1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In this recipe where only 3/4 cup self rising flour is required, I would add 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt to a scant 3/4 cup all purpose flour.

Enjoy!