Does anybody cook with parsnips? Questions

[Faith-manor]

Dh got his bloodwork back from.his annual check up, and he had elevated AIC, not high, not diabetic, just bumping toward the lower threshhold of prediabetic. Diabetes does not run on either wide of his family. No one has it. Genetics possibly at play because their Scandi genes seem to keep them long and lean, and everyone on that side is a big foodie eats tons of veggies and fruits. I think what has happened is he has an absolutely ridiculous sweet tooth, eats quite a bit of candy, puts sugar in his tea, sugar in his spaghetti sauce, his chilli, you name it. He is now determined to get that back down.

He is a mashed potato lover and doesn't want to give that up. I am going to stock red potatoes which are lower glycemic index than my usual yukons, but I was reading that parsnips are quite low gli high in fiber, and some people eat them mashed. I don't think he would go whole on parsnip mash. But I am wondering if I could put some parsnip puree in with mashed red potatoes and up the fiber content, lower the gli, and have the flavor still be "mashed potatoes". 

Don't suggest mashed cauliflower. He hates and despises cooked cauliflower....probably the only veg he cannot stand cooked as again, he is a major foodie and if it doesn't moo or baa from the plate or bite back, he likes it! 😂 

I was thinking maybe 1 - 9" parsnip to 4 red potatoes, for 2-3 people. However, since I have never cooked with them, I don't know what to expect from the flavor and texture. I will be shunned by my family if I make nasty mashed potatoes at the holidays! 😜 

Is that ratio even worth doing in terms of making the dish more glycolic friendly?

[regentrude]

I have cooked roasted parsnips before and found them to have a very distinct flavor. Not sure it would blend with mashed potatoes. I like almost all veggies, but the parsnip flavor was off-putting to me.

Otoh, cooked celeriac root makes an amazing puree and we love it.

[bookbard]

I love parsnips but don't buy them regularly as they're a fair bit more expensive than potatoes. They taste quite different. I'd suggest you buy some and roast them alongside potatoes and serve them, but don't pretend they are potatoes. You both might like the flavour. I'd rather a roast parsnip than a roast potato, I find them delicious. 

[Laura Corin]

I agree that it's a very distinct flavour. I'm not keen. Also agreeing on celeriac. 

Edited December 2, 2023 by Laura Corin

[Eos]

Mmm, I love parsnips and think they would be delish mashed with potato and/or celeriac.  They're quite sweet tasting.  My grandmother used to make parsnip ice cream which was really good!  You can also boil them then finish them like homefries.

[prairiewindmomma]

We love roasted parsnips. I drizzle with a little olive oil and add pepper and sometimes smoked paprika. Don’t mix them with other stuff. Serve separately. We’ve found them tolerable when roasted on a tray with other veg, but I dont think I’d like them as a mixed mash. I prefer them chopped with the roasting crunch to them.

[Faith-manor]

Okay, see, ya'll always come through! The Hive for the win. I will buy a couple and roast them to see what he thinks, and then see if I can get my hands on some celeriac. I am not certain I have ever seen it locally, but I am game to try it if I can find it.

[livetoread]

My favorite way to eat parsnips is to roast them with carrots. I cut them similar size and roast with some olive oil and salt and then add some chopped parsley when done. I think a little parsnip taste goes a long way (I made parsnip soup once - just once) but I think they meld well with carrots.

[cjzimmer1]

I just had a conversation with a friend last week whose kid is diabetic.  She told me turnips are the lowest of the root vegetables and parsnips are much higher.  She said she regularly now serves turnips in place of potatoes. She equated parsnips more to a carrot.  I love parsnips but as others have said their flavor is pretty distinct and not everyone appreciates it.

[prairiewindmomma]

36 minutes ago, cjzimmer1 said:

I just had a conversation with a friend last week whose kid is diabetic.  She told me turnips are the lowest of the root vegetables and parsnips are much higher.  She said she regularly now serves turnips in place of potatoes. She equated parsnips more to a carrot.  I love parsnips but as others have said their flavor is pretty distinct and not everyone appreciates it.

This. Turnips are more buttery is the mouth also.

[KatieJ]

There is some current thoughts  that if you cook potatoes and then cool then, you are lowering the carb count in them. So consider making your mashed potatoes ahead of time and reheating in them oven. (I do it every year for Thanksgiving.)

I have  cooked parsnips and mashed them with potatoes. I wouldn’t use too many, they are a stronger flavor. 

I liked them just fine..can’t remember how my family reacted. 

Edited December 18, 2023 by KatieJ

[KungFuPanda]

What if you just make mashed potatoes a lot less often?  When a meal calls for mashed potatoes, can you substitute roasted veggies instead? You can roast carrots, radishes, and broccoli along with your potatoes to tone down their impact.  Or maybe do a twice baked potato to limit the serving size? You could mix cream cheese into mashed potatoes and pipe it into a muffin tin. It would taste nice and rich, lower the gli, and have smaller portions. 

[MEmama]

We love roasted parsnips. They are quite sweet when roasted, delicious with sweet potatoes, carrots and onions. They'd make a perfect complement to a roasted chicken.
 

Parsnips are also fantastic for breakfast, fried on the stovetop and served with pancakes and sausages and drizzled with dark maple syrup. 
 

They last forever in the fridge (or cellar if you have one). They are harvested here until the ground is frozen and are sweetest in spring after overwintering in the ground.

[ScoutTN]

Love roasted parsnips! They are sweet, more like carrots than any other veggie in texture. Yummy as a side with almost any simple protein, chx or meat. 
 

 

[Faith-manor]

Let me ask this. Does anyone put them in vegetables stews or does the flavor not fit?

I make my stews with potatoes, carrots, onions, green beans, peas, red pepper, and pinto beans. Would parsnips go with? I have never done turnip but now I wonder if I should.

[Drama Llama]

2 hours ago, livetoread said:

My favorite way to eat parsnips is to roast them with carrots. I cut them similar size and roast with some olive oil and salt and then add some chopped parsley when done. I think a little parsnip taste goes a long way (I made parsnip soup once - just once) but I think they meld well with carrots.

I love this, it’s the only way I regularly cook parsnips.

My favorite low carb thing to add  to potatoes is cabbage to make colcannon. 

What about rutabaga?  I sub chopped rutabaga for potato in stews and soups a lot, but there is a lot of flavor to mask the taste difference, so I don’t know how it tastes

[Melissa in Australia]

We use parsnip..we grow them,but I have never mashed them. They are fairly sweet. I put parsnip in stews with lentils instead of potatoes. I roast them as well. 

[ScoutTN]

40 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Let me ask this. Does anyone put them in vegetables stews or does the flavor not fit?

I make my stews with potatoes, carrots, onions, green beans, peas, red pepper, and pinto beans. Would parsnips go with? I have never done turnip but now I wonder if I should.

I have a cassoulet recipe with Italian sausage, onions, parsnips, carrots and white beans that is yummy! Will come back to post it later if anyone wants it.

I also use parsnips in beef stew. I  still use potatoes, but fewer. 

 

[ScoutTN]

I find turnips to be a sharper flavor and less good mixed with other things. Those I do mash with butter and salt. The texture is different too. I prefer parsnips. 

[Eos]

46 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Does anyone put them in vegetables stews or does the flavor not fit?

I find they make the soup or stew too sweet.  The flavor is great for stew but I would cook them separately so they don't sweeten the whole pot.

[cjzimmer1]

19 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

I have a cassoulet recipe with Italian sausage, onions, parsnips, carrots and white beans that is yummy! Will come back to post it later if anyone wants it.

I also use parsnips in beef stew. I  still use potatoes, but fewer. 

 

I do!

[EKS]

nm

Edited December 3, 2023 by EKS

[prairiewindmomma]

A few thoughts:

1. I think it might be helpful for you to look up the glycemic index of a bunch of different foods.  Russet potatoes are 98. Parsnips are 97.  There's not much benefit to switching to parsnips. Turnips are 62.  They are still really high.  Depending on how sensitive your dh is, he may have no business eating root vegetables at all.  My dh (not diabetic, but genetics are strong for him) won't eat cashews with a glycemic index of 25, but prefers macadamia nuts, which have a glycemic index of 10 because he can see the difference in his morning blood sugars if he has a handful of one versus the other.

2. Is he exercising at least 30 minutes a day, and preferably 60? Some dietary sins can be managed by a walk after meals. I know the weather is not conducive, but whatever you do for winter exercise, he might find he can tolerate more if he exercises a bit.  I don't need much exercise to bring my numbers down (I test in solidarity with dh), but dh really has to exercise hard twice a day in order to budge his numbers.

3. Candy and sugar have to go. He might finding taking his blood sugar after meals enlightening.  For dh, seeing how his body reacts to specific foods has helped him figure out how strict he needs to be. My peasant ancestors gave me a decent tolerance for whole grain bread (glycemic index in the 70s).  I seem to be able to handle a slice without much spike.  Dh has to be much stricter. He doesn't even do lentils or beans (glycemic index in the 30s.) 

[Faith-manor]

57 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

A few thoughts:

1. I think it might be helpful for you to look up the glycemic index of a bunch of different foods.  Russet potatoes are 98. Parsnips are 97.  There's not much benefit to switching to parsnips. Turnips are 62.  They are still really high.  Depending on how sensitive your dh is, he may have no business eating root vegetables at all.  My dh (not diabetic, but genetics are strong for him) won't eat cashews with a glycemic index of 25, but prefers macadamia nuts, which have a glycemic index of 10 because he can see the difference in his morning blood sugars if he has a handful of one versus the other.

2. Is he exercising at least 30 minutes a day, and preferably 60? Some dietary sins can be managed by a walk after meals. I know the weather is not conducive, but whatever you do for winter exercise, he might find he can tolerate more if he exercises a bit.  I don't need much exercise to bring my numbers down (I test in solidarity with dh), but dh really has to exercise hard twice a day in order to budge his numbers.

3. Candy and sugar have to go. He might finding taking his blood sugar after meals enlightening.  For dh, seeing how his body reacts to specific foods has helped him figure out how strict he needs to be. My peasant ancestors gave me a decent tolerance for whole grain bread (glycemic index in the 70s).  I seem to be able to handle a slice without much spike.  Dh has to be much stricter. He doesn't even do lentils or beans (glycemic index in the 30s.) 

Thanks. I looked at a chart that had the index lower on parsnips, but it may have been an old one. It was my mom's from a long time ago.

We have taken up a new exercise routine together.

[Lecka]

I read one time about adding lentil beans to mashed potatoes, and I tried it.  
 

I liked it, and I did not do a taste test or anything, but I thought it was not noticeable.  
 

 

[J-rap]

We love parsnips, and our favorite recipe for mashed potatoes includes about 1/3 mashed parsnips.  I also like to put them in anything that requires chunky vegetables: stew, shepherd pie, etc.  I just chop them up along with the carrots, onions, etc.  They do have a unique flavor, but I like it.  

[Terabith]

Probably not helpful but I've heard rave reviews of this recipe.  https://tc.farm/blog/2021/03/10/white-chocolate-parsnip-soup/

[Pam in CT]

Like other pp, I enjoy them roasted, alone or with other friends like sweet potatoes and carrots, with some olive oil and smoked paprika.  Or thrown in among chicken pot pie etc. Never tried them mashed.

[Sasharowan]

5 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

Let me ask this. Does anyone put them in vegetables stews or does the flavor not fit?

I make my stews with potatoes, carrots, onions, green beans, peas, red pepper, and pinto beans. Would parsnips go with? I have never done turnip but now I wonder if I should.

We routinely use turnips in stews and soups in place of potatoes. We have also used parsnips in place of carrots before. Both go well in stews and potatoes weren't missed by the potato lovers.

[ScoutTN]

Winter Cassoulet 
from Real Simple

1 lb Italian sausage (no casings) 
1.5 C chx broth
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, 1/2” dice
3-4 parsnips, 1/2” dice
1 tomato chopped or 1 15 oz can
3 15 oz cans white beans, drained and rinsed
1 t. dried thyme 
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
fresh parsley

In dutch oven, brown sausage in 1T olive oil until brown. Add broth, veggies, beans, seasonings. Scrape the bottom to mix in any browned bits. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer about 1hr until veggies are tender but not mushy. Taste and season with more S&P and parsley

If you want, toss breadcrumbs in butter and top. Then brown in the oven for a few mins til breadcrumbs are golden. (We skip the topping. Ymmv.) 

I usually just use all the parsnips in the bag for this. 

 

Edited December 4, 2023 by ScoutTN

[ScoutTN]

On 12/2/2023 at 6:40 PM, cjzimmer1 said:

I do!

Posted!

[Resilient]

Cut out the pulpy core.