By Candy, RN (Steele the Day)
I loved my dad’s butter-fried parsnips growing up. They were the only vegetable I’d eat. Since I’ve strayed from using Dad-amounts of butter, I haven’t had a parsnip in 25 years. It was time.
We tend to give butter a bad rap because it contains so much saturated fat, but a little won’t hurt you and it adds a lot of flavor to foods that are naturally bland. I’d much rather indulge in a pat of real butter than something from a plastic tub full of ingredients and chemicals that I can’t pronounce.
An attempt this week to recreate the yummy butter-fried parsnips of my childhood was not in vain, even though I was flying by the seat of my pants. I peeled and julienned two large parsnips (I totally forgot they came coated with wax) and 4 or 5 carrots and tossed lightly with about a teaspoon or two of olive oil. Then I added about two teaspoons of my favorite spreadable butter, which has a very simple ingredient list: sweet cream, canola oil, and salt. I sprinkled kosher salt and a couple of grinds of pepper, and threw them in a 375° oven. After about 20 minutes, I stirred them around, and then roasted until the edges start to caramelize. (OK, really caramelize. I love crunchy edges). I turned the oven up to 400° for the last half of the cooking time. I couldn’t wait.
When they were perfectly caramelized, I took them out if the oven and drizzled about a teaspoon of pure maple syrup over them. Lest you think I buy syrup at $15 a pint, I happened to have a “purse size” sample I picked up at a hotel breakfast buffet a couple weeks ago.
The result was fabulous. The natural sugars in the carrots and parsnips caramelized beautifully. The little bit of butter brought out the best of the flavors of the root vegetables. And the syrup drizzle? Perfection. The combination of these two veggies makes a very good source of dietary fiber, Vitamins A, B6. C, K, folate, and manganese.
Give these a try, you won’t regret it. Even if you don’t like vegetables.
Oven-roasted Root Vegetables
2 large Parsnips, peeled and julienne
4-5 carrots, peeled and julienne
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons butter spread
Salt, pepper
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
Heat oven to 375°. Toss vegetables together in a roasting pan with olive oil and butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring flipping them once. Increase oven heat to 400° and roast about another 10 minutes, or until the edges are crispy and the vegetables are starting to brown nicely. Place in serving dish and drizzle the maple syrup over the top.
Candy Steele is a registered nurse who has worked with cardiac patients for over thirty years. “Functional foods” have become her passion, and she enjoys sharing her love of cooking, a random life and a faithful Jesus with her friends at Steele (the Day). She is blessed with three grown children, a new daughter-in-law, and a kind and patient husband who only knows how to fix popcorn (but she’s OK with that).