Parsnip gougeres

Adapted from a recipe in the Guardian Weekend, 3rd December 2011.

The recipe feature was all about dinner party food, and these gougeres were intended as canapes. We ate the lot for lunch between two of us though!

Ingredients

100ml water

37g butter

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

pinch salt

100g strong white flour I’d imagine plain flour would also work fine

½ tsp allspice

2 large eggs

1 parsnip, peeled & grated

120g cheese The original recipe suggested cheddar or stilton, we used Cornish cruncher with balsamic onions from M&S

Directions

  1. Put the water, mustard and butter into a saucepan & bring to the boil.
  2. As soon as the liquids are boiling, add the flour and allspice and stir until the mixture becomes a ball of dough and comes away from the sides of the pan.
  3. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.
  4. Beat the eggs into the mixture until smooth.
  5. Stir the parsnip in.
  6. At this point you can put the mixture in the fridge until you’re ready to bake if need be
  7. When you’re ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to gas 7/220C.
  8. Break the cheese into small pieces & gently stir into the mixture.
  9. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and put dollops of the mixture on it, with a decent amount of space between each dollop.
  10. Bake for 15-20mins until golden brown; serve immediately.
  11. Repeat steps 9 and 10 for any remaining mixture.

A couple of things we thought we’d try if making the recipe again:

  • Adding some paprika
  • Trying the mixture with some cumin

This recipe tastes even better made with vegetables from Community Harvest Whetstone :)

Parsnip gougeres on baking sheet