In which I am ambivalent about parsnips

[delphipsmith]

One of my goals this year was to get out of the usual menu items that we have in regular rotation and try some new things. The best so far have been sweet potato-green onion pancakes with eggs, ham and pepper jam and Smitten Kitchen's crispy broccoli with lemon and garlic. Tonight I thought I'd try roasting some carrots and parsnips tossed with olive oil, sea salt, fresh-ground pepper, and herbs. I was pretty sure I'd had parsnips at some point in my life, and how bad could a root vegetable be?

Nowhere did any of the recipes I consulted warn me that for the first ten minutes roasting parsnips smell like melting plastic. Ugh ugh ugh.

We soldiered on, however, and in the end they...weren't bad. They needed butter (which is unusual, in my experiene, for roasted veg; perhaps I went too light on the olive oil?) and more seasoning. I also grated a little manchego on top because cheese, you know? The first bite was meh but then they rather grew on me, though I admit that could have been the butter, salt and cheese.

So all I can say is that where parsnips are concerned, I remain uncommitted.

Comments

[magnetic_pole]

Those pancakes sounds fabulous.

Hm. I have to say I'm not sure if I've ever had a parsnip. (I had to look them up just now to see what thy looked like.) But the better half has been making daikon soup a lot recently, and the smell is terrible (to me) while they cook...though the taste, once done, is fine. I wonder if it's something common to the whole family of root veggies? M.

[arcanetrivia]

I'm not terribly fond of roasted parsnips prepared as you described. I like them better cut up in soup with other things, or boiled/steamed then topped with a little butter (I think you're right that the olive oil can be a bit odd), or I fancy up with brown sugar for a glaze for special occasion dinners (usually mixed with carrots prepared the same way). They also make a good mashed vegetable, but then there's your milk and butter and potentially cheese improving things again.