Parsnip and Tomato Casserole

Ingredients

• 900 grams parsnips
• 450 grams tomatoes
• 5 tablespoons cooking oil
• 75g butter
• 3 level tablespoons soft brown sugar
• salt and black pepper
• 150 grams Gruyère Cheese
• 300 mls cream
• About 4 tablespoons fresh white breadcrumbs

Method

Preheat the oven to 170° Celsius.

Peel the parsnips, cutting away and discarding the hard central cores. Slice the parsnips thinly. Skin the tomatoes, remove the seeds and cut the flesh into slices. Heat the oil in a pan and lightly fry the parsnips for approximately 4 – 5 minutes.

Grease a 1.5 litre casserole dish with half the butter and place a layer of parsnips over the base. Sprinkle with a little sugar, salt, freshly ground pepper. Add a little cream and cover with a layer of tomatoes. Spread a little more cream and the cheese over the tomatoes and repeat these layers until all the ingredients are used up, finishing off with the cream and cheese. Top with the breadcrumbs and dot the remaining butter over the top.

Cook the parsnip casserole for 40 minutes in the centre of the oven. Serve straight from the casserole. This goes well with roast lamb or pork.