Spiced Parsnip and Bacon Cake

Method

1. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the parsnips at a simmer for 15 minutes, or until they feel tender when you prod them with a knife. Drain them well.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a non-stick frying pan, add the bacon and cook it until it starts to brown but is still soft. Add the chilli and chopped shallot and cook for 2 minutes — the shallot should be soft by now. Stir in the garam masala and remove from the heat.
3. Mash the parsnips and mix them into the bacon mixture. Put the frying pan back over the heat with the last tablespoon of butter, pile the parsnip mixture into the pan and flatten it out with a spatula. Cook it for a few minutes — it should brown on the bottom and hold together in a cake. Carefully loosen the cake, slide it out onto a plate, then invert the plate back over the frying pan and flip the cake back in so you can cook the other side.
4. While the cake is cooking, mix the mustard, honey and cream together in a small saucepan over a low heat until the mixture bubbles.
5. When both sides of the cake are brown, turn the cake out onto a board. Cut the cake into wedges and serve with the honey and mustard sauce and some green salad leaves.