Amuse Bouche: Craving Parsnips

We have a vivid memory of reading a book when we were small (Googling reveals it to be this one) in which the main character wrote a poem about her hatred of parsnips. It left an imprint on our impressionable mind (we were probably six at the time) and we refused to eat parsnips for several years thereafter. We finally tried the root vegetable several years later and immediately realized that we had spent our entire life previous missing out. Parsnips are fantastic. They’re almost unbelievably sweet and they’re delicious whether pureed, simply roasted, or made into a soup. In the years since we discovered parsnips, we’ve been making up for lost time. Below, four of the Hub’s best parsnip dishes.

Aujourd ‘hui has what is probably the city’s most decadent dish involving our favorite root vegetable: butter poached Maine lobster is accompanied by a parsnip puree, braised lettuce, and a savory potato mille-feuille. We love how pairing a humble vegetable with lobster automatically makes it feel decadently luxurious.
•At Brownstone, diners can order a side dish of carrot parsnip puree, which is sweet as candy, but quite a bit healthier.
•Parsnips hold up beautifully in soups and the roasted parsnip and apple version at Casablanca is no exception. The soup is topped with blue cheese and crispy onions and there could be little finer to enjoy on a cold and rainy day.
•To the best of our knowledge, Salts is the only area restaurant brave enough to include parsnips in a dessert. The restaurant’s toasted coconut and parsnip cake is topped with tropical fruit and coconut ice cream.

Aujourd ‘hui [Official Site]
Brownstone [Official Site]
Casablanca [Official Site]
Salts [Official Site]

[Photo: Australian City Farms & Community Gardens Network]

Amuse Bouche: Craving Parsnips