Several years ago I decided I would start using a wider variety of vegetables. I walked through the produce section and would buy something new and then go home a look for a recipe to cook it. Often it necessitated a return trip to the store to pick up an extra ingredient or two, but because of it I have been able to add some new veggies to the rotation. One of those, parsnips, only made a single trip to the house. I cannot recall what I made, but it wasn’t something that just grabbed me. I think I need to give them another try, and thanks to Maggie, I have a new recipe to try them. Here it is…
I don’t prepare potatoes often as we try to watch our carb intake. However, when I do make them, I go all out. What the heck- if you’re gonna splurge, there should be lots of cream, butter and cheese, right?
I like adding parsnips to this dish just to sweeten it a bit. You can easily omit them and just add another potato or two. This recipe is huge. When I make this for just the family, I cut it in half. If cooking for a bit of a crowd, make the whole recipe.
These are creamy, tender and just delicious.
Au Gratin Potatoes & Parsnips
What you need:
1 1/2 sticks butter
6Tbs flour
3 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp salt
4 tsp dried ground mustard
1 tsp black pepper
6 potatoes, 1/4 inch slices
2 parsnips, peeled and sliced
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
What you do:
Preheat oven to 375. Place the potatoes and onions in a deep casserole dish, lightly greased. In a sauce pan, melt butter, slowly add the flour, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes. Slowly add the cream and spices, continuing to stir. Add the cheese, and stir until melted. Pour over the potatoes, and bake for about an hour, or until potatoes are soft.
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
Love parsnips! I’d probably skip the potatoes altogether and just make parsnips au gratin!
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If I cut carbs, potatoes (and fruit) would be the last I would cut. They are loaded with vit c and minerals. .
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2770/2
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Have the food companies stopped coating them in wax in the US? Some years back I was visiting some friends in Wisconsin. As a guest, I always try to make a point of making at least one meal for my host(s). As it was late autumn, I thought a recipe which was popular when I was managing a little restaurant in central London would be appropriate and introduce my friends to parsnips.
To my horror, upon removing the parsnips from the package, they’d been peeled and coated with wax. Quite apart from the issue that I prefer to be who decides whether the parsnips, or carrots, I serve are peeled, there was also the not inconsiderable additional work involved.
The dish, which was a great success uses alternate layers of sliced tomatoes and sauteed parsnips, a respectable amount of garlic, salt and pepper as preferred, cream and a significant layer of grated, mature cheddar. You’ll have noticed I haven’t specified quantities, which will vary depending upon the size of baking dish you plan to use and/or the number of people you wish to serve.
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Reblogged this on digger666.
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Lovely! I have also made a very similar dish with milk instead of cream (to slightly assuage any guilt) and it also works well.
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I love the idea of trying to cook new and different veggies. I always wonder about the things on the supermarket shelves that I’ve never tried. I might adopt your philosophy!
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I was never a great fan of parsnip until my sister-in-law made shaved parsnip chips. Definitely not for the diet conscious but absolutely delicious. 🙂 Nice to learn another dish.
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Truly divine! My husband was just saying how much he liked parsnips and wished I would make them again. There’s a bit too much butter and cream in this recipe for us, but I love to normally roast them with carrots and other root veggies for a special health carb treat.
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Reblogged this on Deb Donahue and commented:
I love Au gratin potatoes, but I’ve never grown, or even tasted parsnips. Think maybe it’s time to move out of my comfort zone? This sure tempts me to.
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