Pale Harvest

01

What you’ll need

• 300 g parsnips, peeled
• 2 tsp neutral oil, divided
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
• 600 mL water
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 3 wide strips unwaxed lemon peel, with no white pith
• 75 mL freshly squeezed lemon juice, finely strained
• 50 mL pure maple syrup, plus 1 tsp for the garnish
• 200 mL unsweetened plain soy milk, verified vegan and free of flavourings
• 4 narrow fresh lemon-peel twists, for serving

02

Mix the drink

1. Heat the oven to 220°C. Use a vegetable peeler to shave four long ribbons from one parsnip and set them aside. Cut the remaining parsnips into 2 cm pieces, toss with 1 teaspoon neutral oil and the salt, and roast on a parchment-lined tray for 22 to 25 minutes, turning once, until golden at the edges and tender.
2. Combine the roasted parsnip, water, split vanilla bean and wide lemon-peel strips in a saucepan. Bring just to a simmer, cover and cook gently for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and lemon peel, pulse the mixture with an immersion blender for only 5 seconds, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve without pressing hard. Cool for 10 minutes.
3. Stir the strained lemon juice and 50 mL maple syrup into the parsnip infusion. Warm the soy milk in a clean saucepan to about 60°C; it should steam gently but must not boil.
4. Pour the acidified parsnip mixture slowly into the warm soy milk in a thin stream. Stir once, very gently, then leave it undisturbed for 20 minutes while the soy proteins form curds that capture the haze.
5. Set a dampened coffee filter inside a fine sieve over a clean jug. Ladle in the curdled mixture and let it drip without squeezing. When the first 75 mL has passed through, carefully return that cloudy first run to the top of the filter. Continue filtering until the liquid is clear and pale gold, 35 to 50 minutes; replace the filter once if the drip stops completely.
6. Cover the clarified punch and chill for at least 90 minutes. For the garnish, brush the reserved parsnip ribbons with the remaining 1 teaspoon neutral oil and 1 teaspoon maple syrup, curl them loosely around heatproof spoon handles and bake at 150°C for 12 to 16 minutes until dry and lightly golden. Cool completely before sliding them free.
7. Taste the chilled punch. If the yield is below 500 mL, add enough cold water to reach 500 mL and stir gently; this keeps each serving balanced rather than overly concentrated.