Parsnips are one of those vegetables with bad PR, and which got lost between cultural staples like carrots and potatoes, in fact it even tastes like a cross between the two... with some parsley thrown in. Parsnips, ("navet" in French) were used as a sweetening agent before cane sugar became a major European import, and they are more often found in European dishes. The British and Scottish have a particular penchant for this dish, but it is also found in the French Pot-au-Feu (glorified chicken + vegetable stock meal) or as a velouté, a thick vegetable soup.
This roasted parsnip salad recipe mixes cooked and raw elements (perfect for enzyme digestion) and calls for oven roasting the root vegetable with rosemary and tossing them with caramelised vinegar pearl onions (or just sautéed onions) and pomegranate seeds with S+P and a little olive oil. The bursts of juice from the pomegranate with the vinegar of the onions create an engrained salad dressing of its own.
Ingredients
4-5 parsnips
Sprinkle of pomegranate seeds
Balsamic vinegar caramelized peal onions or diced and sautéed onions
Rosemary
Olive oil, S+P
Recipe
- Wash and slice parsnips into 1/2 inch to 2 cm pieces and then cut into quarters (slice vegetable in half, place flat side on counter and slice into thinnish slices and then cut those slices in half).
- Roast at 350ºF/180ºC for 15- 20 minutes with sprigs of rosemary, until the outside is crisped.
- Slice caramelized balsamic onions and toss with parsnips along with pomegranate seeds, a drizzle of oil, S+P