Very Important Vegetable Matters

I’m still trying to figure out why I joined Facebook.  After all, I already know who my real friends are, and I can still remember what they look like.  I have an address book, which is very out-of-date, and, therefore, gives me a good excuse for why I suck at keeping in touch with people.  Having easier access to my friends seems like a rather large tactical error.

But when Facebook asked if I wanted to know what vegetable I would be (if all of one’s human complexities could be reduced to a mere vegetable), I literally couldn’t wait to find out.  Being practically geriatric as compared to the average Facebook user, this was the equivalent of me sliding my walker slowly over to the rotary phone, hoping my Depends wouldn’t be around my ankles by the time I got the operator on the line.

The answer?  Parsnip.

I’m not sure what vegetable I expected to be.  An artichoke, maybe?  But, it certainly wasn’t a parsnip.  Now, I’m trying to figure out exactly what it is I have in common with a parsnip besides being very, very white.  The other thing, and this is where I really take offense, is that most people wouldn’t touch a parsnip with a 10-foot pole.  Are you trying to tell me something, Facebook?

Anyway, I actually do like parsnips.  Really, once you get to know them, they’re not so bad.  I like this soup because the parsnip flavor really comes through despite there being all kinds of other distracting stuff in there.  Like kielbasa!!!  I might even be so bold as to say you could leave out the kielbasa entirely.  But that might make it seem like I’ve been drinking again.  So, keep it in.  The parsnips won’t mind.  They don’t really like being the center of attention, anyway.

 

Hungarian Bean Soup

In case you were wondering what the Hungarians have done for you, lately.

1½ cup dried pinto beans, soaked overnight (local source: Baer’s Best at Russo’s)
4 Tbsp. olive oil
4 ribs celery, diced
2 medium onions, diced
2 parsnips, diced
2 carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 quarts vegetable stock (that’s 12 cups, to save you some math)
3 bay leaves
1 lb. kielbasa, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 tsp. paprika

Drain and rinse beans, then put into a medium pot and cover with cold water by 2 inches.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until just tender (maybe 45 minutes, but this can vary).  Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add celery, onions, parsnips, carrots, and garlic.  Cook, stirring often, until vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes.  Add stock, beans, and bay leaves, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables and beans are soft, about 45 minutes.

Add kielbasa, paprika, and salt (for the love of god, be generous) and pepper to taste.  Simmer 10 more minutes.  Discard bay leaves.

Source: Saveur.  This recipe evidently came from some cutting-edge San Francisco elementary school cafeteria that doesn’t serve Ring Dings as part of their balanced meals.  Flint and Zbinovsky seem to be the lunch ladies in question, from what I can gather.  Something about how they’re creating the food snobs of tomorrow.  Good.  It’s like learning a foreign language.  You have to start early.

Comments

[ilva]

I have a few things to say here. I too wonder what I am doing on Facebook but I have found two friends with whom I actually wanted to get in touch with, believe it or not. Sounds like a FB ad. Then I wanted to say that I love parsnips and miss them much here in Italy where I never seen a single on. and then I wanted to finish with saying that FB said that I am an asparagus! But how do they decide it? What are the parameters that they use? I didn't tick a single multiple choice box....

[Karen]

That's an easy one: Parsnips are a lot sweeter than people think. :-)

[Jasmine Dawson]

The Washington Post recently profiled Parsnips and apparently they are all the rage in the restaurants who source locally and make seasonable menus -- the farmer's coop can barely keep up with the demand (and they featured a few recipes as well). They are super hard to find here at the grocery or at the farmer's markets. I like them though but need more recipes. Thanks for sharing this one.

[Kathy]

I'd really like to try this recipe using parsnips, but probably couldn't get away with it because "someone" would soon notice that those parsnips floating around in the broth aren't potatoes.

[Tammy]

Kathy: The other thing you could do is include parsnips in the veggie stock, but not chopped up in the soup. That way, you get the flavor without the tell-tale chunks. Of course, then you have to ask yourself, is it really that important?

Jasmine: As self-declared President of the Parsnip Appreciation Club, I will find more recipes.

Karen: Shhhh. I have my reputation to think of.

Ilva: I found three friends I actually wanted to get in touch with, too. It's been nice to catch up. But, now what, Facebook? No parsnips in Italy? I thought Italy had everything and better. Asparagus is clearly the better vegetable to be. How'd you get in such good standing? I have no idea how it decides. I'd like to think there's some kind of complicated algorithm, but I think it's just eeny-meeny-miney-mo.

[Mary]

I happen to love parsnips and will eat them any chance I get. I even now have my husband eating them. I'm not in facebook, but I'd like to think I'm a rutabaga. I like them too.

[Sally]

I'd probably be hominy. You know - corn soaked in lye. Ugh.

[Tammy]

Sally: But who doesn't love grits? Only crazy people.

Mary: Rutabagas are awesome. There's a local turnip they grow on Cape Cod that some claim is a cross between a white turnip and a rutabaga. It's sweet and really delicious. They're hard to find, though, so I often cook turnips and rutabagas together to try to get that effect.

[Cheryl in NC]

Way late to the party, I know, but I just wanted to say that while the recipe sounds intriguing & appealing, the post was the star here, and the comments HILARIOUS! I really love your blog. There are many I love for their recipes, but only a few whose posts I actually read all the way through. Yours is in that short but illustrious list (along with SmittenKitchen; told you it was short :D