Like most root vegetables, parsnips are well-suited for roasting. A very thin drizzle of honey highlights the sweetness when roasted in butter. They combine well with carrots, squash, onions, apples and pears. You can also mash them like potatoes, or oven fry slices or sticks. They make good additions to meat stews and pot roasts – beef, pork, lamb and venison – although I don’t like them as well with chicken.
Parsnip Potato Gratin
- 4 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 medium onions, thinly sliced3 large parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1-1/2 cups shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese, divided
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
Layer the potatoes, onions, parsnips and 3/4 cup cheese in a greased 13×9-in. baking dish; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the flour, salt, pepper; gradually whisk in cream. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat; pour over vegetables. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 20-25 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender and top is golden brown.
Parsnip Purée
- 1 pound parsnips, well-scrubbed and thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Kosher salt
Bring parsnips, garlic, cream, milk,and butter to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until parsnips are very soft, 10–15 minutes. Uncover and cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes; season with salt. Purée in a blender until smooth. Purée can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Reheat over medium-low, stirring often.
Parsnip Cake
This old Victorian recipe from William Woys Weaver is a good choice if you’re OK with experimenting. Note that it only takes a teacup of parsnips; it’s really more about the flour and yeast.
Boil your parsnips till perfectly soft; pass them through a colander. To one tea-cupful of mashed parsnip add one quart of warm milk, with a quarter of a pound of butter dissolved in it, a little salt and one gill (four ounces) of yeast, with flour enough to make a thick batter. Set it away to rise, which will require several hours, when light stir in as much flour as will make a dough, knead it well and let it rise again. Make it out in cakes about a quarter or half an inch thick, butter your tins or pans, put them on and set them to rise. As soon as they are light bake them in a very hot oven. When done wash over the tops with a little water, and send them to the table hot.
Parsnip Cake Recipe II
- 2 cups flour
- 1 t. salt
- 1 t. baking soda
- 2 t. baking powder
- 2 t. cinnamon
- 2 t. ginger
- 1/4 t. nutmeg
- 4 eggs1 cup sugar
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup melted butter
- 1 t. vanilla
- 2 cups squash or pumpkin (canned or cooked & pureed)
- 4 cups shredded parsnips
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Blend the squash/pumpkin, eggs, sugars, oil, and vanilla together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients until blended. Fold in the parsnips. Pour batter into two greased 9”x9” pans and bake for 35 minutes at 350F or until an inserted toothpick is dry.
Irish Parsnip Soup
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 lb parsnips, peeled and chopped
- 1 lb apples, peeled and chopped
- 1 onions, chopped
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
- 4 c chicken or vegetable stock
- ½ c heavy cream, room temperature
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
In a medium soup pot, melt the butter. Add the parsnips, apples, and onions. Sauté over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until the vegetables have softened slightly. Add the curry powder, cumin and coriander. Mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant. Add the stock and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the parsnips are very soft. Remove the soup from the heat and puree it with an immersion blender, or by transferring the mixture to the bowl of your stand blender. Add the cream to the pureed soup. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper, as needed. Return the soup to a low heat and warm the soup gently, without boiling, until heated through.
Squash and Parsnip Soup
- 4 pounds honeynut or butternut squash, halved lengthwise (from 2 to 3 honeynuts or 1 large butternut)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for frying and drizzling
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 pound parsnips (4 to 5 medium), peeled and halved lengthwise
- 2 pounds leeks (3 medium), white and light-green parts only, halved lengthwise and thoroughly washed and drained
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves, plus whole leaves for frying
- 2 Granny Smith apples (1 pound), halved and cored
- 1 quart chicken broth
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- Toasted pepitas, toasted sesame seeds and poppy seeds, for serving
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Scoop seeds and pulp from squash; discard. (Or lightly coat seeds in oil, season with salt, and roast on a rimmed baking sheet until crisp and darkened slightly, about 20 minutes; let cool and reserve for garnish.) On a rimmed baking sheet, rub squash halves with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt; turn cut-sides down. On another rimmed baking sheet, toss parsnips and leeks with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, season with salt, and sprinkle evenly with thyme and chopped sage; spread in a single layer. Roast 30 minutes. Add apples to sheet with squash, cut-sides up. Continue roasting until vegetables turn golden brown in places and are easily pierced with the tip of a knife, 15 to 20 minutes more. When cool enough to handle, scoop flesh from squash; transfer half to a blender with half of other vegetables and apples, 2 cups broth, and 1 cup water. Puree until smooth, adding more water as needed if too thick to self-level. Pour through a sieve into a pot. Repeat process with remaining vegetables, apples, broth, and 1 more cup water.Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until fragrant and golden brown and dark-brown sediment particles form in bottom of pan, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir brown butter into soup; season with salt and pepper. Rewarm soup over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally and adding more water as necessary until it reaches desired consistency.Wipe pan clean. Heat 1/4 inch of oil over medium-high. When it shimmers, add a handful of sage leaves; cook, stirring a few times, until darkened slightly, 20 to 30 seconds. Transfer to paper towels, season with salt, and let stand until cool and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Fry more sage as desired. Serve soup topped with crisped sage, pepitas, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and a drizzle of oil.
Roasted Parsnips
- 1/4 cup hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 2 pounds parsnips, peeled, halved crosswise, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick sticks
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pulse pumpkin seeds in a food processor until finely ground. Toss parsnips with oil and ground seeds in a large bowl until evenly coated; season with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Arrange in a single layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets and tossing parsnips halfway through, until golden brown and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve immediately.
