EatLocal365 » parsnips

How to Make Parsnip-Cashew Curry

Erik — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:28:43 +0000

The two most difficult things about having a CSA are the lack of control over what you get, and the use it or lose it nature of produce. We have our biggest problem with winter storage vegetables, as they slowly pile up in our fridge and basement.

When we recently had a bag of potatoes that we hadn’t used, we made a very nice curry out of it. Last night we were staring at a bunch of unused parsnips (about 10!), so we figured, why not see if the same trick will work twice? Instead of potato-peanut curry we made a parsnip-cashew curry. Great success!

I often find curries to be intimidating because it always seems like they have 1,000 ingredients. In reality, they’re actually pretty simple to make, once you figure out how best to wrangle the ingredient list. Recipes often require the same ingredient in two places but only list it once in the ingredient list, which drives me mad. In an effort to make things easier I’ve deconstructed the timing of this recipe and put each ingredient into a group according to the timing (I had to toss our usual “where we got it” column to make room).

A lot of the work can be done a day or two in advance (making it a good Monday or Tuesday night dinner). Anything that includes an asterisk in the “Timing” column can be prepped or at least measured out in advance.

Parsnip-Cashew Curry Serves 4

Timing	Amount	Ingredient	Preparation
In Advance *	1 cup	Dried chickpeas or beans	Soaked in cold water overnight, then drained. We used soldier beans.0
The Cashews *	0.5 cups	Cashews	Toasted and ground/td>
The Paste *	5	Cloves	Garlic
The Paste *	1	Small onion	Or 1/2 of a larger one
The Paste *	2 inch piece	Raw ginger	We keep ours frozen an then grate it with a microplane
The Paste *	2	Fresh green chilis, or about 8 dried	Finely chopped (fresh) or crumbled (dried); set half aside
The Paste *	5 TBsp	Water
Initial spices *	1 tsp	Cumin seeds
Initial spices *	2 tsp	Ground corriander
Initial spices *	1 tsp	Tumeric
Initial spices *	1 tso	Chili powder
Main Ingredients	2 lbs	Parsnips	Cut into half-inch chunks, woody inner core cut out if you like
Main Ingredients	9 oz	Tomatoes	Peeled and chopped. We used the ones we canned last September
Main Ingredients	4 TBsp	Sunflower oil	Can use canola or another oil (although olive oil might add too much flavor)
Main Ingredients	0.75 pint	Water	Just shy of 2 cups, if that’s easier
Finishing Ingredients	1 tsp	Ground cumin	Either toast and grind whole seeds (since you are using whole seeds already) or use pre-ground
Finishing Ingredients	2 cloves	Garlic	Minced
Finishing Ingredients	Lime juice	Juice of 1 lime, or a few TBsp of bottles juice
Finishing Ingredients	To taste	Kosher salt
Finishing Ingredients	To taste	Black pepper	Freshly ground
Finishing Ingredients	1 handful	Cashews	Toasted
Finishing Ingredients	As desired	Plain yogurt	We used our own homemade yogurt
Finishing Ingredients	A handful	Fresh cilantro leaves or parsley	To garnish

Directions

Soak the chickpeas or beans overnight in cold water.

Drain the chickpeas / beans. Place them in a pot and add enough cold water to cover them. Bring it to a boil and let it boil vigorously for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to a low boil and cook for 60 – 90 minutes or until the beans are tender. Drain and set aside. This can be done a number of days in advance.
We usually opt for cooking a larger amount of beans in a crock pot on low for 6 hours, which we’ll use over the course of a week or two. That saves us a lot of time and effort on this step, including not having to keep an eye on a boiling pot.
Set the oven to 400 degrees. Measure out 0.5 cup of raw cashews plus one extra handful, and toast for 5-10 minutes (you can tell by the aroma when they are done). Set aside the handful for garnish. Put the rest into the food processor and pulse until they are finely ground. This can all be done well in advance.

The next step is to make the garlic-ginger paste. If you have a powerful enough food processor, you can just throw everything from “The Paste” together without pre-chopping. If your food processor is closer to our old model, you may want to pre-chop the ingredients into smaller pieces. Don’t worry if you have some cashew dust residue from the prior step; no need to clean now. Because we keep our ginger frozen, we took out a frozen two-inch piece and grated it directly into the work bowl of the food processor using a microplane.
If you are using fresh chilis and wish to limit the hear, you should cut them open, remove the seeds with a spoon, and chop them up first. If you are using dried chilis (like we did) and want to limit the heat, you will want to crumble the chilis into a work bowl and them fish out the flesh, leaving some (or all) of the seeds behind). Only use half of the chilis at this point and set the rest aside for later.

Add all the ingredients for “The Paste” to the food processes (including the 5 TBsp water) and pulse until it’s smooth. This can be done up to a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator, although fresher is better because it will lose intensity over time.
Measure out the “Initial Spices” into a small bowl and set aside. This can also be done ahead of time.

Chop the parsnips and the tomatoes. We removed the woody center of the parsnips through careful knife work (if you cut one in half you can see it), but it’s not an absolute necessity. Our tomatoes, canned last summer, already had the skins removed, but if you are using fresh, you should remove the skins, although again, that’s not an absolute necessity.
In a large frying pan (we used a cast iron skillet), heat the oil on medium-high. Although we often cut down on the amount of oil in recipes, in this one it’s important not to skimp, even though it seems like a lot. Once the oil is hot, add the “Initial Spices” and the ground cashews. Mix and let it sit for 20 – 30 seconds. Add the garlic-ginger paste and tomatoes and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes.
Add the chickpeas / beans and parsnips, as well as the rest of the water (0.75 pint or just shy of 2 cups). Add salt and pepper (to taste, but err on the side of “a lot”). Turn the heat up to high and bring to a very strong rolling boil. Look for big bubbles around the edge of the pan. Stir every so often. Once you’ve got it to a strong boil, turn the heat down so that it’s at a strong simmer (continuous little bubbles) and let it simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered. Parsnips are tough, especially if you leave the core in, so you want to make sure that the boil and simmer are strong.
If the parsnips are tender and edible while there is still a good amount of liquid left in the pan, bring it all back up to a strong boil and let it go until enough water evaporates to thicken the sauce. We didn’t find that to be necessary (ours was plenty thick), but results will vary. Add the “Finishing Ingredients” as well as the second half of the chilis and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes.
Plate with the leftover (whole) toasted cashew pieces, cilantro or parsley leaves, and yogurt. Service with naan, rice, or bread.

Dark Days: Chicken and Parsnips Braised in Hard Cider

Lindsay — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:23:02 +0000

We made this for dinner on Saturday, but because we tried out a (delicious) punch recipe with some friends yesterday, we didn’t get around to posting about it…or doing anything else we were supposed to do…until today. Oops! Pretty nice way to spend an afternoon, though.

Braising is one of my favorite Dark Days techniques, because we tend to eat more meat in the winter and I appreciate the extra heat from the oven. I have made five or six recipes from the book All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking, because it has an excellent breakdown of the techniques and great recipes for creative and classic dishes, like Coq au Vin and pot roast. The short version of the procedure is: brown the meat, sauté the aromatics (such as onions and garlic), use a liquid (like wine) to loosen all the yummy dark bits from the bottom of the pan, put the meat back in the pan, cover, and cook at a low temperature in a small amount of liquid for several hours.

This recipe is also from All About Braising and is a winner, even though we ended up missing the movie we had planned on seeing, because it wasn’t ready in time. I ALWAYS underestimate the amount of time braising will take. It just takes longer to actually get to the braising part than I think it will. Lesson learned – either start an hour earlier than you think you should or don’t make plans to eat at a specific time. The nice part was that the recipe makes chicken and vegetables, so we didn’t have to mess with making a side dish. If you haven’t had parsnips before, this is a great way to try them. They’re sweet by themselves, but extra tasty after spending an hour in a bacon hard cider bath.

Chicken and Parsnips Braised in Hard Cider

Ingredients:

Amount	Ingredient	Preparation	Where we bought it (* Union Square Greenmarket)
2 tsp	Sunflower oil		Stolor Organics (sold by Cayuga Organics)*
4 slices	Thick-cut bacon	Cut into 1/2 inch wide strips	Flying Pigs Farm *
4 (~3 pounds)	Chicken breasts	Bone-in and skin-on	Violet Hill Farm *
To taste	Salt and pepper
1 large	Shallot	Minced	Paffenroth Gardens *
2 1/2 cups	Hard cider (still or bubbly)		Doc’s Hard Cider
1 TBsp	Fresh rosemary	Finely chopped	Our fire escape
1 pound	Parsnips	Peeled and cut into 3-inch by 1/2-inch sticks	Paffenroth Gardens *

Directions:

Rinse the chicken breasts under cool water and then pat them very dry with a paper towel or two. They won’t brown very well if they’re damp, so don’t rush this step. Sprinkle both sides liberally with salt and pepper. Set them aside.
Slice the bacon into 1/2-inch strips.
Heat the oil in a 12-inch cast iron skilletover medium heat and add the bacon. Make sure your skillet has a lid. If it doesn’t, use a large, heavy-bottomed, oven-safe pot that will fit all the breast in one layer.
Stir the bacon occasionally until it becomes crisp, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon or spatula to transfer the bacon to a paper towel covered plate to drain.
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet (discard) and return it to medium high heat. Place the chicken breasts, skin side down, in the pan. This part is a bit like playing Tetris. Try not to move them around too much once they’re in the pan, but you might need to make a few adjustments to get them all to fit. In my pan, it works best to arrange them like the wedges in Trivial Pursuit. Try to remember the order they went in, because the first one in will brown first.
While the breasts are browning, chop the shallot, rosemary, and parsnips, if you haven’t already. The larger parsnips might have a visible, tough core. It’s worth removing this, if you have time.
After about 5 minutes, take a peak at the underside of the first breast you put in. It should be a nice golden brown and not stick to the pan. If it seems ready, flip it over with tongs and repeat for the other three breasts. If it sticks or isn’t brown, leave it for another minute. You’re not trying to cook them through at this point, just give them a nice brown crust.
After another 5 minutes, check the second side. If your breasts are pretty thick, you might want to stand them up against the side of the pan to brown the edge for another 2 to 3 minutes. Once all the sides are brown, take the breasts out of the pan and set them on a large plate.
Keep the pan on medium high heat and add the shallot. Stir constantly, because it will burn quickly. Once the shallot is brown, about a minute, add 2 cups of the hard cider.
Let the cider cook down to about 1/2 cup, which will take about 15 minutes. While it’s boiling, use a wooden spoon to scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Add the rosemary and the other 1/2 cup of cider and reduce it again to about 3/4 cup. This should take another 8 minutes or so.
Arrange the parsnips in a single layer on the bottom of the pan and give them a good sprinkling of salt and grind of black pepper.
Add the bacon on top of the parsnips and try to spread it evenly.
Put the chicken, skin side down, back in the pan on top of the parsnips and bacon. Cover it with a piece of parchment paper and then the lid. If you’re using a pot, push the parchment paper down so that it almost touches the chicken, so that you can mimic the tighter quarters of the skillet.
Put the skillet in the oven and cook for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, flip the chicken and cook for another 25 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink on the inside (make a small incision in the thickest part to check).
After the chicken is done, use a slotted spoon/spatula or tongs to transfer the chicken and parsnips to a plate. Cover them with tin foil and return the pan to the stove. Boil the sauce over medium high heat for about 10 minutes to thicken it. It won’t become thick like gravy, but it will be thicker than broth.
Serve each breast on a big pile of parsnips with a good drizzle of sauce.

I think I’m going to go eat the leftovers for lunch. Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!