As Iris might put it, I just love parsnips. Yesterday we got an auspicious-looking bunch of skinny ones at the University Farmers Market, and I tossed them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted them for about half an hour until the tips were crunchy and the rest soft and lightly browned. They were as good as French fries.
Parsnips–which should really be called “sneeps,” the way Scots called turnips “neeps”–are heinously inconsistent. They don’t keep very well but don’t show their age much, either. Sometimes they have a woody core, sometimes not. If I see a slender, just-picked bunch, small enough not to need peeling, I’ll buy it, but often I want parsnips when such a bunch is not to be had. In that case I’ll usually slice them into coins and saute them with bacon; a little chewiness is okay in this format.
Last night’s parsnips were the side for [shrimp and grits with tomatillo sauce](https://www.rootsandgrubs.com/2006/11/26/tomatillo-duo/); I’ll be raving about this dinner for a while.
recipe? I love shrimp & grits and am always looking for suggestions for it …
and I need to order some Anson Mills grits or something
Sorry, I made a link in case anyone else is confused. I need to reorder from Anson Mills, too.
I just core parsnips w/ woody centers – typically what’s left is sweet and tasty, no matter how old they are.
I do too, jarlsberger, but for some reason the thought that I might or might not find a woody core in my parsnip fills me with existential dread.
wait, so, the things i got in my organic farmer co-op box that had an inedible web of woody chewiness, that i thought were turnips, were actually parsnips? or…no?
i am stymied by root veg.
Parsnips look like carrots. Turnips are shaped like big radishes. Does that help?
shwew…so my root veg nemesis IS turnips.