Recipes From the Root Cellar_ 270 Fresh Ways to Enjoy Winter Vegetables - Andrea Chesman [19]
In Europe, before the potato became popular, parsnips were a very popular vegetable and even enjoyed in desserts. Clearly, there is plenty to explore here.
Availability
Parsnips are available year-round, but the best flavor comes from newly harvested parsnips after a few frosts, in late fall or early spring.
Storage
For short-term storage, trim off any green tops. Store the parsnips in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator, where they will keep for several weeks. For long-term storage, store in a root cellar. Parsnips also do well left in the garden under a bed of mulch.
How to Buy
Look for firm, unblemished roots. Avoid ones in plastic bags where you can’t judge their age or soundness. Although we tend to think that parsnips look like white carrots, in fact they tend to vary widely in diameter, from wide near the stem end to very narrow at the end. Look for uniformity in size, as best you can.
Preparation
Parsnips, like carrots, should be peeled or well scrubbed before using.
Cooking Ideas
The best way to prepare parsnips is to roast them, which brings out flavors of nutmeg, honey, and nuts. Just cut into chunks or slices, slick with oil, and roast for 20 to 30 minutes at 425°F. Parsnips can also be steamed and left whole or puréed, sautéed, or fried. Basically you can cook them in any way that you would cook carrots. Be careful when throwing parsnips into a soup; it may contribute too much sweetness.
Parsnip Math
1 pound parsnips = 4 to 8 medium parsnips = 3 cups sliced or diced
Rutabagas
What’s not to love about a rutabaga? First, there’s the name. The Swedes named it, and it means “thick root,” which isn’t half so euphonious as “rutabaga.” (In the 1800s, Americans called it “turnip-rooted cabbage,” which really isn’t a pretty name!) Then there are the legends associated with it. In the British Isles it was the original jack-o’-lantern, a tradition based on the legend of a blacksmith named Jack who mortgaged his soul to the demons of the underworld. Jack found his way through the netherworld guided by a large hollowed-out rutabaga containing a glowing coal. Then there is the rutabaga’s willingness to grow in the most marginal climates and soils, including places like Scandinavia, Finland, and Ireland. Until the potato arrived from the New World in the mid-sixteenth century, entire populations on the fringes of Europe were sustained by the rutabaga. Yet I never even tasted a rutabaga until I was in my thirties, and I don’t think that is unusual in the United States.
The rutabaga developed as a cross between cabbage and turnip, but it more closely expresses its turnip ancestry. In fact, you can use rutabagas interchangeably in recipes that call for turnips, though they are generally milder, sweeter, and larger than turnips. Rutabagas are sometimes called Swedes or yellow turnips; their flesh is yellow, whereas the turnip’s flesh is white.
Availability
Rutabagas are harvested in the fall and generally are available all through the winter. Many supermarkets dip rutabagas in wax, a protective measure that makes them available year-round, but freshly harvested rutabagas have better flavor. As they age, rutabagas develop a cabbagey, bitter flavor.
Storage
For short-term storage, trim off any green tops. Rutabaga greens are very tasty and should be enjoyed like turnip greens. Store unwaxed rutabagas in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator for a week or two. Waxed rutabagas can sit on the counter for a week or two. If your rutabaga is too large to use in one dish, you can wrap the remainder in plastic and keep it for up to 1 week. For long-term storage, store in a root cellar.
How to Buy
Look for firm, not limp, unblemished roots. Smaller is generally better, but rutabagas do not have the same tendency to become woody as large turnips do.
Preparation
Rutabagas have a tough, inedible skin that should be sliced away with a knife before using. Rutabagas should