New food challenge-- Radishes and Parsnips?

auntdeedee87

I am looking for recipes involving radishes, and also ones for parsnips.

In an effort to eat better, boyfriend and I are going to try new foods each week. This week he suggested those. I have never tried, much less cooked with, either.

Ideas are appreciated!

quietlywinning

Radishes are best raw!! Wash them and cut off tops and bottoms. Some are fairly hot, and others are not at all.

Parsnips I have only had boiled in soup, kind of like turnips or potatoes. Like turnips, they are very firm and take awhile to soften when you cook them.

rosebarnalice

Parsnips:
* Smashed Potatoes and Parsnips: Cook 'em together and then mash 'em together! A lot lighter than straight mashed potatoes, and I find I don't want to add butter or milk to them because they have enough flavor as is.
* Parsnip Soup: Cut into chunks and simmer in water seasoned with an italian spice blend until tender. Hit with a stick blender, and voila! You've got a hearty and flavorful "faux-cream" soup with no added heavy cream. I sometimes add a tbsp of fat free sour cream when serving. I've also used mexican spices instead of italian spices (cumin, chile powder & cayenne)
* Scalloped Parsnips: substitute for potatoes in your favorite scalloped potatoe recipe. I also use "veggie shreds" soy cheese substitute instead of cheese, and low-calorie almond milk instead of the milk or cream. May need to bake a little longer than a traditional recipe in order to get crispy and golden.

Radishes:
I love 'em raw too much to do anything else with them, but I like to grate or shred them an use them as a spicy garnish on salads, soups, and casseroles!

Leigh_b

check out cookinglight.com they have great recipes and you can enter an ingredient and it will give you recipes. I made a "root vegtable stew" that I found on the website last year that was really tasty and it had parsnips in it

lilibe

Sometimes we boil and mash potatoes and parsnips together. Parsnips are also great roasted in the oven. Radishes are great raw, chopped and added to salads. You can also sauté radishes in a little butter for something different.

auntdeedee87

Thank you for all the input! I wound up making slow stewed beef and roasted root vegetables, and incorporating the parsnips in that way.

In case you're curious, I'll post the recipe--
3 medium red potatoes, cut into chunks. I left the skins on.
2 medium parsnips, sliced into inch-deep pieces.
1-2 cups of sliced or baby carrots
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup chicken broth or veggie broth
Basil
Rosemary
EVOO

Set oven to 425 and grease dish-- Combine carrots, potatoes and parsnips in shallow baking dish-- Mix in garlic and some salt and pepper if desired. Sprinkle with Basil and Rosemary.
Place onion wedges around edges, 2-3 inches apart.
Drizzle EVOO over all and roast for 30 minutes.

Add chicken broth and stir until well distributed-- Roast another 20-25 minutes or until fork tender.

Delicious. I am thinking of adding red peppers next time for more flavor.

Served in a bowl, and topped with the stewed beef and some beef broth-- Delicious, and easy! Pretty inexpensive, too!

Before:
RootVeggies1 by deeanneuhh, on Flickr



Finished product:
RootVeggies2 by deeanneuhh, on Flickr


Sidenote: This was my first time trying parsnips-- Boyfriend and I were both impressed with them! This is a recipe we will be making again.

emilydmac

bump!

bcattoes

I love roasted parsnips. Just clean, chop into large chunks, toss with olive oil and spices (I like chili powder, garlic powder and black pepper) and bake in a hot oven until they begin to carmelize.

Parsips can also be steamed or boiled and mashed as a healthy alternative to mashed potatoes.

What type of radishes do you have? Is it the round red type or the big white Japanese radish? I love the white radish in stir fries. I've only ever had the red ones in salads.