Growing at the Speed of Life - A Year in the Life of My First Kitchen Garden

PARSNIPS

Basic Preparation

For several years, I’ve literally blended parsnips
into a sauce that I can characterize only as vel­
vet by simply steaming the youngish, relatively
small root until it’s very tender and then pop­
ping it into a blender with some evaporated
skim milk (ratio 1 pound steamed parsnips to
an 11-ounce can of milk) and whizzing it for
4–5 minutes until it develops a beautiful sheen.
Add salt and white pepper.
I use it in place of a velouté-style sauce over
noodles—or whatever you choose—and dust
with freshly grated Parmesan cheese just before
serving. (One tablespoon of cheese is enough
to give the aromatic impression that it really
is  an Alfredo or Mornay sauce.) The dish can
then be put under a hot broiler to “au gratin”
it  until it is dappled and deliciously golden
brown.
You can use this concept of browned (au
gratin) velvet sauces with all kinds of foods,
from poached fish to cauliflower. If the dish to
be dressed is basically white, the au gratin sauce
will cover its bland appearance and also pro-
vide an interesting texture.
As an alternative to the parsnips, sweet po­
tatoes can be used to get that mac ’n’ cheese
look!

PAN-ROASTED PARSNIPS

While I had thought this was my absolute favor­

ite way to prepare parsnips, since I’ve grown

and then cooked my own, I know it’s the best!

SERVES 4

2¼ pounds parsnips

1 teaspoon nonaromatic olive oil

½ cup roughly chopped onion

1 garlic clove, bashed and chopped

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon white pepper

6-inch sprig fresh rosemary

½ cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock

(see page 288)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Peel and cut the parsnips lengthwise into

quarters, and slice crosswise into ¼-inch-thick

wedges. Pour the oil into a high-sided skillet

over medium-high. Add the onions, garlic,

parsnips, salt, and white pepper, and stir to mix

thoroughly. Sauté 2–3 minutes or until the

vegetables just start to brown.

Bury the rosemary sprig in the cooking veg­

etables, pour in the stock, cover, and cook for 5

minutes or until the parsnips are as tender as

you like them. Remove the rosemary and serve

with a sprinkle of parsley.

Per serving : 129 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 28

g carbohydrate, 2 g protein, 6 g dietary fi ber, 179 mg

sodium. Exchanges: 2 Starch, 5 Vegetable

204 • GROWING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE