3 great reasons your diet needs more parsnips

Related to carrots but lacking the orange colour and beta-carotene, parsnips look like pale versions of their cousins. With a sweet, herby and slightly nutty flavour, parsnips are high in fibre and nutrients. Here are three reasons your diet needs more of this sweet-tasting veggie.

[Image Credit: iStock.com/MarianVejcik]

Just imagine, packed into 250 ml (one cup) of cooked parsnips you’ll find:

• Fewer than 126 calories.
• About a quarter of the daily vitamin C requirement for good heart health.
• Essential folate for making red blood cells, vital for transporting oxygen to the brain.
• Magnesium for bone growth and metabolism, which are linked to strength and weight control.

Although parsnips are in greatest supply from fall through early spring, most markets and grocery stores carry them year-round.

• Parsnips are grown mainly in northern California, Michigan, southern Ontario, British Columbia and Manitoba.
• Growers place parsnips in cold storage for two weeks or so before shipping them to market, to allow their starch to convert to sugar, making them much sweeter.

Many farmers and home gardeners in colder climates allow parsnips to overwinter in the ground, enjoying a natural cold storage.

When buying parsnips choose firm, medium-sized roots that are uniformly shaped and free from bruises or soft spots.

• Parsnips more than 20 cm (eight inches) long may have a woody core.
• Young parsnips are high in natural sugars, so they caramelize well when baked.

Storing

Keep parsnips (without their greens) in a perforated plastic bag in the vegetable drawer of the fridge for up to four weeks.

Preparation

• If you’ve never cooked with parsnips before, prepare them much as you would carrots. For most uses:
• Trim the tops and bottoms of parsnips
•  Use a vegetable peeler to trim away a thin layer of the skin.
• To dice, cut parsnip in two along the length and remove any woody core. Then cut across each piece.
• If you’re intending to purée parsnips, cook them first.
• It makes them easier to peel afterwards by hand.

Basic cooking

Parsnips are best when they are cooked until just tender.

• Steaming is a good method to use, as is microwaving.
• You can also braise parsnips in stock and season them with herbs.
• If you prefer, bake parsnips as you would sweet potatoes with fruit juice, brown sugar and spices such as cinnamon and ginger.
• Purée cooked parsnips in a blender or food processor and serve them with butter, salt and pepper.
• For extra flavour, combine puréed parsnips with puréed pumpkin or sweet potatoes.
• Parsnips enrich the nutritional value and the flavour of soups and stews; be careful not to put them in to cook too early or they will become mushy.

• Grate tender young raw parsnips into salads to add flavour, texture and vitamin C.
• Puréed parsnip can be used as the basis for delicious pancakes. Add one medium grated carrot, two sliced spring onions, one egg, 15 grams (one tablespoon) flour and a pinch of salt. Cook pancakes in batches in a non-stick frying pan with a little peanut oil. Serve warm topped with apple sauce or a dollop of sour cream.

Parsnips are excellent for use in everything from salads to pancakes.

Salads
Simply grate tender, young raw parsnips into salads to add flavour, texture and vitamin C.

Pancakes
Puréed parsnips can be used as the basis for delicious pancakes.

1. Add one medium grated carrot to your puréed parsnip, two sliced spring onions, one egg, 15 g (one tbsp.) flour and a pinch of salt.
2. Cook pancakes in batches in a non-stick frying pan with a little peanut oil.
3. Serve warm, topped with apple sauce, or a dollop of sour cream.

Loaded with nutrients, sweet in flavour and easy to prepare, parsnips are vegetable superstars that deserve more airtime on the family dinner table.