A much healthier alternative to “normal” chips, these were first recommended to me when I was a student living in Hendon in north London. 

This was some time in the mid’70s, the era of shortages, and potatoes were being hoarded to push up the price, which had become absurd. 

The greengrocer, who was Jewish and from Egypt and so had likely known his own hard times, absolutely refused to sell me potatoes on the grounds that I was a student and therefore by definition dirt poor — no more than the truth, actually — and that there were cheaper alternatives. 

Alternatives to spuds? An idea whose time had definitely not come to Manchester, my home town, so I was sceptical. 

But only until I bought his very cheap parsnips and followed his instructions, which — not for the first time — I have tried to reproduce below. 

You can add things to this, for example fresh or dried herbs, chilli powder, ground cumin or a splash of white wine. 

Try them “neat” first, and then experiment.

Ingredients

• 4 large parsnips, peeled and chipped
• 3 tbsp olive, or sunflower or rapeseed oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

What to do

• Preheat oven to 450?F/230?C/gas mark 8. 
• Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl and spread the chips onto a baking tray. 
• Bake for 40 minutes.