Parmesan Parsnips and Carrots

Parsnips aren’t usually one of the vegetables I associate with spring, but what do I know? My last CSA delivery included the prettiest, little carrots and parsnips, and I also saw parsnips at the farmers’ market last weekend. I always try to find good ways to use the locally grown produce that’s delivered to my door, and I was sure I had seen a really great-looking parsnip recipe somewhere at some point in time. Luckily for me, I had saved the link in my Evernote food notebook. I love how handy that is, and I can even access it on my iphone, and no, they didn't pay me to say that unfortunately. The idea for perfect parsnips came from the Good Mood Food blog, and I had saved this link thinking they did indeed look rather perfect. Roasted parsnips become crunchy and delightful with a coating of whole wheat flour and parmesan. It occurred to me that these would make great bar snacks since we enjoyed them with glasses of Mighty Arrow beer, and I think they'd go well with red wine too.

Although the recipe is for parsnips, I decided to use both the parsnips and carrots I had on hand, and since they were all very slender, I left them whole. I didn’t peel them either since they were young, tender things. I gave them a good scrubbing and pulled off the little hanging roots. The trimmed and cleaned parsnips and carrots were boiled for four minutes and then drained. Whole wheat flour, salt, and pepper were combined, and the cooked carrots and parsnips were tossed in that mixture. They were placed on a sheet pan, sprinkled with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, and they were drizzled with olive oil. They roasted for about 25 minutes until crispy and irresistible.

They’re sweet, savory, salty, crispy, tender, and easy to handle as finger food. All things that make bar snacks good. I made these as an appetizer course to enjoy while I finished getting dinner ready one evening. Dinner paled in comparison. After these crunchy, parmesany vegetables, we both looked at dinner like it didn’t even matter. So, try this with spring parsnips or fall parsnips or with carrots whenever you can.

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