Warm Parsnip and Walnut Salad

Turns out my LDL is a bit high, so I've been eating more walnuts to help bring it down. Mostly I've just been eating them plain and of course my normal, baked goods doses. But I thought I ought to step it up a notch, and start cooking more with walnuts. And thus, this recipe happened. I was feeling lazy so I made Italian dressing chicken with red rice, but I wanted some real food too. There were some parsnips in the fridge I'd totally forgotten about, and one of Ross' coworkers gave him some garden tomatoes, and it sort of went from there. Hope you enjoy!

5 parsnips, peeled and diced
1 large red onion, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and grains of paradise (or pepper) to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
2 tablespoons tangy pickle juice or lemon juice (I used pickle juice from farmer's market pickles)

2 tomatoes, diced
2 sprigs thai basil, chopped
10 pickled cubanelle peppers, diced
1/2 cup walnut halves, chopped or not as you see fit

Heat oven to 400F. Grab your large cast iron skillet (I used a 12", if you don't want to do it that way, a sheet pan will be just fine, or however you normally roast things) and fill it up with the oil, onion, olive oil (I generally use mid-grade extra virgin oil for these sorts of applications), seasonings and pickle juice. Roast 20 minutes, stir and roast another 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil, peppers and walnuts, stirring well. Turn OFF oven and put the pan back in the oven for 10 minutes to an hour (i.e., you can make this an hour or so before you plan to serve it. When you take it out of the oven is determined by how hot you want it). Serves 2 as a large side.

No picture, because I realised hours after we'd eaten it that this was new stuff and y'all might want to know about it. I've been quiet since I haven't been doing new stuff lately.

Comments

  1. j.8:31 AM

    Ooh, that sounds yummy. Parsnips are kinda sharp flavored raw, right? Like radishes?

    I assume they get sweet when you cook them, similar to carrots? I know I've used them, but I can't remember...

    Hope you (and the less cave-like Cave of Food) are doing well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Allie4:03 PM

    Yeah, and starchy. I tend to lump them into the same sort of cooking category as potatoes, turnips, etc.

    But they sweeten up quite nicely when they're cooked, and they really do go well with a lot more things than I ever think they will.

    Doing really well - how're you?

    ReplyDelete
  3. j.5:44 PM

    Good, relaxed, and kinda living at the minute. I'll have to try parsnips next time I see them.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lentil, Chick Pea and Eggplant Boil

Image
Sorry for the delay. I actually made this days ago, but due to my busy school schedule (yay! The semester is finally almost over!), I didn't have time until now to post it. I always forget about lentils. I always have them in the house, and like them quite a bit, but most of the time, they don't even exist as an option in my head. I don't know why that is. I've been telling P for a while now I wanted to eat more lentils, so finally I just made some. I also decided to take this as an opportunity to use up some spare veggies laying about. Hope you enjoy! 1/2 anise bulb, sliced 1 small onion, cut into rings 1/2 jalepeno, minced 1 tablespoon olive oil salt to taste 1 cup yellow potato, cubed 2 cups cubed and peeled eggplant 1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, cut into quarters 1 cup lentils 3 - 4 1/2 cups water 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon each: clove, cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed 1/2 preserved lemon, diced 1 roma tomato, chopped 1 cup mixe...
Read more

Gems, Lovely Gems

Image
I actually have a bit more homework than I anticipated, so today I just want to tell you guys about gems. It appears that no one really knows what gems are anymore, but back in the 1800s they were a popular, if heavy, treat. So much so, that many pioneers even found room in their wagons to bring a gem pan. By the early 1900s, gems had fallen out of favour and most people just went with muffins. It's a sad, sad thing, really. Traditionally, gem pans were made from cast iron. You can still find beautiful, old cast iron pans on eBay. In fact, aside from scouring antique shops hopefully (and often fruitlessly), eBay is the only place I know that routinely "carries" them. You can find a proper gem pan for as little as US$5, and I've seen them as much as US$300. You just never really know. My advice, however, is to find one that's shallow, made in the mid-1800s (this is when the pans were really in their prime, quality-wise), and in extremely poor condition. I say to fi...
Read more

Bergamot Curd

Image
As promised, here is the curd recipe. This is perfect for scones, toast, just to eat, or for an unusual twist on the filling typically used in those little fruit tarts. If bergamots are not available to you, you could always use lemon, Seville orange, sweet types of orange (cut the sugar a bit though), lime, pomello, grapefruit or any other citrus. Enjoy! 9 ounces freshly squeezed bergamot juice 2 tablespoons finely grated zest 1 1/2 cups sugar 6 eggs 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 12 tablespoons butter, cut into 1 tablespoon bits Whisk all but butter into a saucepan. Begin to heat over medium low heat and add all the butter. Whisking periodically, cook until the whisk marks stay in the curd. Pack into sterilised jars (or you can just put this in a jar and put it in the fridge, if you don't want to can it) and process 15 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.
Read more