Ingredients
- 500 g parsnips
- pepper, salt
- wheat flour
- quite a bit of breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp. butter 1
- 100 g sliced bacon
- watercress (or lamb’s lettuce)
- lemon wedges
Parsnip cakes from Ireland. In the mid-19th century, Irish and English Quakers (The Society of Friends) organised food aid in the form of soup kitchens after the failed potato harvests – the only food for a third of the Irish population. They also ensured that parsnips, carrots, turnips and cabbage were sown to protect the country from hunger in the future. A number of them made such an effort to achieve this that they had to pay for it with an early death. But because of their efforts, the ‘cottage gardens’ were full of a variety of crops by the end of the century. Here a culinary tribute to those Quakers.
Traditionally the Irish have been fond of what you can pick in the wild, such as watercress. “Though mead and princely malt may be desirable for the infirm, dry bread and watercress are the food becoming the wise” is an old Celtic saying. But apparently not all Irish wanted to be that wise, as this traditional combination shows. Makes 6 cakes:
- Peel the parsnips with a peeler. Cut away any brown spots. Make slices. Cook until well done with a little water (approximately 20 minutes). Drain, steam briefly to get rid of all the moisture. Mash, mix with salt and pepper. Let cool until lukewarm.
- In a large non-stick frying pan, fry the bacon slices in 2 stages on both sides over a medium heat in their own fat until crispy. Remove from the pan.
- Form six balls from the parsnip puree. Roll through a soup plate with flour. Press into circles (7 cm). Then roll through a plate with beaten egg and finally dip in a plate with breadcrumbs.
- Heat the butter in the fat frying pan. Fry the cakes on both sides until a nice crust forms, turn with spatula.
- Serve with bacon and lemon on plates topped with watercress or lamb’s lettuce.
Wine: Merlot