I recently realized that I actually really like parsnips. Who knew? I’ve pretty much only been doing this with them though. But it’s a great fall recipe and it can be made into a really elegant dinner with some seared scallops or some steak slices on top. I usually make a healthier version of this with much less butter and cream, but here’s the full holiday version and you can cut it down as you see fit. Enjoy!
Parsnip Puree
1 pound or about 6 parsnips, washed and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1.5 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup parsnip cooking water
1/2 cup cream
Cook the parsnips in salted boiling water until a knife goes through easily but they are not falling apart yet. About 20 minutes. Drain them reserving about a cup of the cooking water. Put the parsnips into a blender with 1/4 cup of the cooking water and the butter and blend. Be careful to allow a little air through the top of the blender, because you have hot veggies in there and you don’t want the steam to build up.
Add the rest of the ingredients and blend to combine. You want to use as little liquid as possible while allowing your blender to actually blend the ingredients. You may want to reserve more of the cooking liquid and cream at first, and just add them if you need it to make the blender move. Also, depending on how salted your cooking liquid was, you may need to season with more or less salt.
