Roasted carrots, sauteed cabbage and roasted tenderstem broccoli are my go-to vegetables to cook as part of a roast dinner, never parsnips. I never got on with parsnips as I find them to be mushy, even when roasted for a long time. However, they do seem to be a popular winter root vegetable. In a bid to make them tastier and crunchier, I followed Mary Berry's simple recipe, and they turned out delicious.

Mary Berry's simple parsnip recipe calls on one key ingredient to make them "golden" and "extra crunchy" - and that's semolina. Mary said, "Crunchy sweet parsnips are the perfect side dish. The addition of semolina gives them a lovely crispy outside." After previously using semolina to make Mary Berry's shortbread recipe, I had lots left over to coat parsnips in.

Mary Berry also recommended using semolina on roast potatoes for an "extra crunch", so I'll definitely be trying that next.

• Four to five parsnips


• Three tablespoons of Extra virgin olive oil


• One tablespoon of paprika


• 25g of semolina


• One tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme (I used dried thyme)

I started by cooking the parsnips in boiling water for about five to seven minutes - you want them to be soft but not mushy so that they're falling apart. I then drained and left them to cool for a short while.

In the meantime, I preheated my oven to 200C Fan. Once the oven had reached the temperature, I added one tablespoon of the oil to a roasting tin and placed it in the oven for five minutes to get hot.

While the oil in the tray was heating up, I added the remaining oil to a bowl and seasoned the parsnips with salt and black pepper before mixing in the oil to coat.

I then mixed the semolina, paprika and thyme in a small bowl, before adding it to the parsnips and mixing well to coat the veg in the mixture.

I placed the parsnips in one layer in the tin with the hot oil and roasted them for about 30 minutes, turning over halfway through the cooking time, until golden and crisp.