Parsnip surprises.

[teamsaint]

Well its getting towards that time of year. Always good to make the best of it, and finding new and interesting things to do with root veg is part of the joy.
Any good ideas on what to do with them?
One of our favourites.....
You need a food processor really for this.Take about a pound of Parsnips, and slice thinly in the processor. Layer them in a smallish dish. Melt a really good lump of salty butter, 2oz at least,maybe more, and warm some garlic salt or fresh garlic according to taste in the butter. It really just requires warming through if you use garlic salt, you could gently fry fresh garlic.
Then pour the butter over the parsnips, and cover with foil (or lid if your dish has one,) and cook at 200 degress for half an hour , or until softened.
Would be good with sausages, or perhaps strong flavoured fish like smoked mackerel.
Yum.
Preparation and cooking time......Elgar #1.

Spicy parsnip soup also wonderful, but no doubt you all have great recipes for that.

[Flay]

They are delicious sliced lengthways and roasted in olive oil and maple syrup for 40mins at 200C - with carrots if wished. Perfect with the Sunday roast.

[Pabmusic]

Pretty well as Flay's delicious-sounding version, but this time brushed with olive oil and honey, and sprinkled with fresh, finely chopped rosemary.

[amateur51]

Pretty well as Flay's delicious-sounding version, but this time brushed with olive oil and honey, and sprinkled with fresh, finely chopped rosemary.

Do you get many parsnips in the markets of Capiz, Pabs?

[Pabmusic]

Do you get many parsnips in the markets of Capiz, Pabs?

Not one. They've never heard of them, more's the pity. Mrs Pab's not as fond of them as I am - she loves sprouts, which you can't get either! Still, there are other things - cassava (rather tasteless, in my view), kamote (sweet potato in many varieties), taro, taquay, squash of many kinds, aubergines of all sorts (including the type that really do look like eggs), cooking bananas (and a dozen eating varieties) and much more besides.

[amateur51]

Not one. They've never heard of them, more's the pity. Mrs Pab's not as fond of them as I am - she loves sprouts, which you can't get either! Still, there are other things - cassava (rather tasteless, in my view), kamote (sweet potato in many varieties), taro, taquay, squash of many kinds, aubergines of all sorts (including the type that really do look like eggs), cooking bananas (and a dozen eating varieties) and much more besides.

Ooh cooking bananas, do tell! I bet you get shedloads of prime fish & shellfish too


What's the beer like?

[french frank]

The French Wiki confirms my experience - that parsnips are seldom eaten in France, though Scandinavia shares our taste, apparently. De-cored they cook quite quickly and can be sauéed very easily. But the great combination is, in my view, round a joint of roasting beef.

I have also tasted homemade parsnip wine. Quite dry

[vinteuil]

parsnips are seldom eaten in France, :

... indeed -

"Au Moyen Âge, le panais est considéré comme un aliment de base par le peuple. Quant à la classe bourgeoise et à la noblesse, elles l'évitent, comme tous les légumes d'ailleurs, réputés mauvais pour la santé. En Europe, le panais sera consommé surtout en Angleterre et dans les autres pays du nord-est. Les Français le dédaignaient. Aujourd'hui, il retrouve une certaine popularité chez les amateurs de légumes anciens, de même que dans la population en général. Il est synonyme d'aliment santé."

[french frank]

légumes anciens

(Aren't most vegetables 'légumes anciens'?) Good to see from Wikipédia that it is richer in minerals than carrots (an estimable and versatile vegetable, but not a patch on the parsnip, to my taste).

[Flay]

Weren't parsnips the staple here before spuds came along?

[MrGongGong]

What ever you do
don't dig them up until after the first frost !
will make them taste much sweeter....... the row on our allotment looks like its going to be good this year
parsnip and apple soup is always good

[Anna]

It's surprising how many people dislike parsnips and admittedly they do smell strongly of turpentine. Like everyone else I roast them, usually with other mixed veg such as carrots, onions, squash, etc., but I do love them in what I call an old fashioned lamb stew (the sort your Nan used to make!) As they have a high sugar content weren't they used like carrots, as a sweetner, in puddings or have I got that wrong? Frenchie will know. Turnips however I have never got to grips with, however I cook them I find them unappealing and tasteless.

[MrGongGong]

Parsnip cake is good

very good roasted with artichokes (Jerusalem ones ) ............ suggested movie accompaniment ?

the late, great Leonard Rossiter in Le Pétomane

[Pabmusic]

Ooh cooking bananas, do tell! I bet you get shedloads of prime fish & shellfish too


What's the beer like?

The cooking banana is called saba. It's shorter and sweeter than the West Indian plantain. It's used for many things - an additional ingredient for casserole-type dishes, for instance - but you see it every day as 'bananacue', sold from street stalls. The saba is rolled in hot oil and melted sugar for just a few miutes. Three or four are then skewered lengthways on bamboo and sold immediately. The banana is just cooked and the caramelised sugar has become crunchy. They're delicious, but there's a limit - diabetes is a big concern in the Philippines (it's a sugar-producing country and the stuff is everywhere).

As for fish and shellfish, well there are 7,000 islands here, so the sea has always been important. We live in a place called Roxas City, which calls itself the Seafood Capital of the Philippines. There certainly is an abundance here, much of it new to me, but very delicious. The most popular, everyday, freshwater fish are tilapia and bangus, but the variety of things is amazing - whole tuna, swordfish. My usual comment on Fiipino gastronmic philosophy is "if it moves, eat it".

Beer is, predictably, all of the lager variety, most of it made by the San Miguel company (which is Filipino), but it's decent stuff and comes in several flavours and strengths. You need cold beers, anyway. Rum is very popular (all that sugar again) and Gilbey's London Gin, bottled here under licence, comes in at about £3 a litre.

I hope ths gives a flavour of the difficult life I have. It's hardly about parsnips, but you can't have it all. I'll just go and get a coconut.

[amateur51]

Parsnip cake is good

very good roasted with artichokes (Jerusalem ones ) ............ suggested movie accompaniment ?

the late, great Leonard Rossiter in Le Pétomane