I HAD a customer approach me with the question of what to serve with my sand crab lasagne as the usual salad just wasn't so appealing in such cold weather. My answer was a combination of fruit and vegetable both in season right now – roast parsnip and pear.
Parsnips have quite a distinctive flavour and for some reason are not one of the most popular vegetables around, although I love them. Most of the flavour in the parsnip is just under the surface of the skin so if you can avoid peeling them you will benefit from the full flavour on offer.
Parsnips are one of the few vegetables that actually benefit from frost. The freezing of the live root while still in the ground helps change the starch into sugar, which of course sweetens the vegetable. So parsnips obviously will grow better in a colder area. Large old parsnips should be avoided as they are most likely woody in the centre.
Pears were once the fruit of choice by noblemen. In fact, it is said to have been Louis XIV's favourite fruit. They were considered far superior to the apple and were always include in banquets, both cooked and raw, savoury and sweet. There was particular interest in pears and the growing of them during the Middle Ages (although the consumption of pears goes back to ancient times). Grafting techniques and cross-pollination have resulted in thousands of different pear varieties in the world today.
The pears of Europe and Asia differ greatly in both flavour and appearance. The European pear when ripe should be soft and silent to eat, whereas the Asian pear should have a definite crunch, even snappier than an apple.
Most European pears bear the classic pear shape of round at the bottom tapering up to slimmer neck at the stem. Asian pears are round, even more so than an apple.
The most common of the Asian pears in Australia are the Nashi and the Ya pear. They are often described as salad pears, implying that they should not be cooked. They can, in fact, be cooked although poaching (which is the most common cooking method for European pears) does nothing to help an Asian pear.
I have found Asian pears respond well to grilling or sauteing. Keeping them a little underdone is also desirable as their characteristic crunch is not lost. When buying Asian pears they should be blemish free, have a faint pear perfume and tight skin.
European pears are a little tricky to catch at their best. They are picked unripe and transported around the country. Try to buy your pears while they are still unripe as once they ripen they reach their peak in a matter of hours. Left at room temperature in a fruit bowl they will ripen quite quickly, as opposed to when refrigerated. Once they are slightly soft to the touch around the stem they are ready to eat.
A simple salad of rocket lettuce, parmesan cheese, shaved pear and walnut oil dressing is a triumph of eating in season.
As with most of my recipes for roast parsnip and pear this is simple but with punch and appeal, although it marries beautifully with my lasagna it is also perfect with slow-roasted lamb or roast chicken.
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