The Parsnip Story

Encouraged by Food Network's Alton Brown, my 7-year-old daughter insisted that we needed buy parsnips. Alton did an entire show on the root vegetable and how delicious and versatile it is, so naturally we had to try them ourselves. So, during the next grocery store trip, she made sure I bought some parsnips--apparently, we could make pear-parsnip sauce (like applesauce), fried parsnip chips and other tasty treats with them. Truthfully, I wasn't all that enthusiastic, but when your child eagerly asks for a vegetable, you give it to them, right?

A week later, the parsnips were still in the vegetable bin. Well before they turned into brown muck, I decided to do something with them. My dear husband searched online and found Mr. Brown's recipe for parsnip muffins. Seemed easy enough; but I noticed we were missing a few key ingredients, like whole-milk yogurt and fresh nutmeg. Instead, I thought, why not just treat the parsnips like potatoes or any one of the numerous veggies I buy: why not roast them?

My daughter agreed. She carefully peeled them (in case you're not familiar with parsnips, they look a bit like anemic carrots), and I sliced them into strips, placed them on a baking sheet, sprayed them with cooking spray, sprinkled them with salt, pepper and paprika (to make them look less anemic) and roasted them in a 425-degree oven.

Fifteen minutes later, we had what looked for all the world like oven-fried potatoes. Upon taste-testing them, we discovered the roasting had caramelized the parsnips, browning them and bringing out the sweet-savory quality most root vegetables get from roasting. And voila--a new side dish was born.

My 10-year-old wasn't as enthusiastic, but they may grow on her. I might even mix them with potatoes the next time I make them (they did have a bit of a "rooty" flavor to them which she may have found off-putting) to encourage her to try them again. But they were much better than I expected.

This is all to illustrate what I've been saying all along: don't be afraid to try something new. Not much of an investment for something that could become a new family favorite (or at least, another alternative to broccoli, green beans and carrots).