The recipe

Peel 1kg of parsnips. Cut them into short pieces and steam for about 25 minutes until very soft. Shred 150g of smoked streaky bacon and fry in a shallow pan until golden and lightly crisp. Keep the fat that runs from the bacon. Drain and mash the parsnips with a potato masher, or use a food mixer.

Add the bacon and fat to the parsnips, season generously with salt and black pepper, then shape into 6 plump cakes. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Warm a thin layer of groundnut or vegetable oil in a shallow pan and fry the cakes until lightly crisp on the underside, then turn with a palette knife and brown the other side.

Warm 6 tbsp of double cream in a shallow pan. When it bubbles, stir in 1 tbsp of mild curry paste. Simmer briefly, then serve with the parsnip cakes.

Serves 2.

The trick

It may be tempting to boil the parsnips, but steaming will give a drier mash, which is what you want if you don’t want to use egg yolks and flour to get your cakes to hold their shape. If the mixture feels a little fragile have a thick dusting of flour on which to roll them. Once you have put the cakes into the hot oil, leave them without turning until the underside is properly golden-brown and crisped.

The twist

An old-fashioned parsley sauce, with plenty of finely chopped herbs is a flattering accompaniment for a parsnip cake, as is one of finely chopped tomatoes simmered for a few minutes with shredded basil and a dash of red wine vinegar. You can use a 50:50 mixture of swede and potato, too.

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