Roast parsnips, pears, caramelised shallots and macadamia nuts

I have been enjoying a parsnip revival of late.   Parsnip soup is the dinner du jour in our household this week, but who can resist delicious, sweet roast parsnip? This is a vegetable synonymous with winter, roast dinners, warm fires and chilly nights.  The addition of pears and caramelised shallots make for a perfect side dish to roast pork: A hearty mid-winter’s feast!

Ingredients

Serves 6-8 as a side

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• 6 parsnips, peeled, quartered and cut into 8cm lengths
• 3 pears (ripe but firm), cored and cut into eighths
• Garlic oil
• Few sprigs of thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 500g shallots, halved and peeled
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp oil
• ¼ cup white wine
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• 70g macadamia nuts

Method

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• 1. Preheat oven to 180 ºC
• 2. Place parsnip and pear pieces into a roasting dish, drizzle with garlic oil, sprinkle with thyme sprigs, and season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes.
• 3. While parsnips and pears roast, boil shallots for 10 minutes, drain and return to dry saucepan with 1 tbsp each butter and olive oil. Fry over a medium-high heat until shallots begin to caramelise.
• 4. Mix together the white wine, white wine vinegar and honey. Add half this mixture to the shallots, reduce the heat and cook for 10-15 minutes until the liquid has reduced to a sticky glaze.
• 5. Remove roasting dish from oven and turn temperature up to 200ºC. Add shallots and macadamia nuts to roasting dish with pears and parsnips. Pour over remaining white wine and honey mixture and return to oven. Roast for a further 20 minutes.