Roast Your Parsnips With One Special Coating And Taste The Magic

If you've been sleeping on parsnips, there's no time like the present to explore this delicious and nutritious root vegetable. Among a wide variety of culinary applications and a bevy of recommended recipes, one of the simplest and most effective methods for preparing parsnips is roasting. If you wish to take this a step further, you can elevate your roasted parsnips to new heights with the salt-baking technique. Similar to using a salt bake to get juicer steaks, so too can you apply this method to parsnips. By carefully preparing a salt crust in which your parsnips can roast while in the oven, this "shell" allows the vegetables to tenderize and steam while the cooking process brings out their natural flavors.

With some similarities to sous vide, the salt-baking method provides insulation, seasoning, and retention of moisture for the encrusted food item that is being roasted. While it seems like a surplus of salt, upon breaking your food away from its outer crust, a most delicious and perfectly cooked and seasoned vegetable is revealed. Using this on parsnips ensures a balanced flavor that plays on the vegetable's natural sweetness while also taking care that it is the right palatable consistency that is neither too mushy or crunchy.

First and foremost, knowing the absolute best salt to use when salt-baking is a must. You can find Morton Coarse Kosher Salt on Amazon or at your local grocery store. Remember that, for the purposes of this method, you will need more salt than you might think so it's best to buy in bulk. For roasted parsnips, you can use piccolo or "baby" parsnips with the skin on provided you've taken care to wash them. When using full-sized parsnips, you should still opt for ones on the smaller side that you've trimmed and peeled.

For your salt crust dough, you'll be using egg whites, flour, water, and, of course, salt. If adding other seasonings like paprika, you should mix this into the dough as well before coating the parsnips and roasting them in the oven. Once you've retrieved your oven-roasted parsnips, be sure to use a sharp knife to carefully cut the parsnip out of its salt dough coating to serve and enjoy. These roasted parsnips make a perfect side dish, especially when paired with an autumn roast.