Dishing Up the Dirt

Parsnip Fries With Rosemary-Garlic Cashew Aioli

My father-in-law sure knows the way to my heart.

These parsnips are very special. And no, they were not grown on Tumbleweed Farm. They come from our alma mater Hutchins FarmMy father-in-law and Taylor’s uncle started Hutchins Farm back in the 70’s. They taught us everything we know about organic growing. We wouldn’t be the farmers we are today without our experience back east.

Fast forward 4 years and here we are. Two farmers, one dog, and six acres of land. Guess what is missing from that equation? Overwintered parsnips!!!!!!!  

I was in the depths of despair when I saw Hutchins Farm had recently harvested their parsnips. To say I was jealous is an understatement. Thankfully, my father-in-law knows how much I adore this root vegetable and took matters into his own hands.

Two days ago there was a knock at our door. 20 lbs of parsnips just for us! (Yes, you read that correctly, 20 lbs!!!) It felt like Christmas. I was so excited I hugged the UPS delivery guy, texted my father-in-law and got to work in the kitchen.

These just may be the best parsnips I’ve ever eaten. I know they are grown with love and when cooked to perfection and paired with a creamy aioli they are over the top delicious. I still have about 16 lbs of parsnips to cook up so be on the lookout for more recipes!

These taste best when shared with good friends and good beer. Dig in!

Parsnip Fries with Rosemary-Garlic Cashew Aioli

Prep Time: 10 minutes    Cook Time: 30 minutes    Serves: 4-6

  • 4 HUGE parsnips (or 6-8 smaller ones)
  • 2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil (or another high heat oil)
  • 2 hefty pinches of sea salt
For the Dipping Sauce:
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews (soaked in water for 4 hours)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • Fine sea salt to taste

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Slice parsnips into thin strips
  3. Toss with oil and salt. Place on a prepared baking sheet and baked until golden brown and crisp on all sides. About 15-25 minutes depending on the size of your cuts. Toss parsnips halfway through cooking.
  4. While parsnips cook prepare your dipping sauce. Drain cashews from soaking water. Place cashews, garlic, rosemary, lemon juice and 1/4 cup water in a food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Notes

* Use this recipe as a guide *Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary *Taste test as you go


Leave a Reply

20 thoughts on “Parsnip Fries With Rosemary-Garlic Cashew Aioli

  1. Terry erb says:

    Your father-in-law is amazing! What a gift. Very creative.

    1. Andrea says:

      He really is! Thanks for the comment Terry!

  2. Delish! Love the cashew dip as well. I am very sad parsnip season is over here and that we’ll have to wait a whole 3 seasons for them again. So, I’m very jealous of your 20 lb box delivery! 😉 What a thoughtful gift though, and can’t wait to see what else you’re coming up with!

    1. Andrea says:

      When parsnip season comes again make sure to whip these up!

  3. These fries sound fabulous!

  4. Sally says:

    These look so yummy! I just love your blog, and following along with farm life…

    1. Andrea says:

      Thank you Sally!

  5. I’ve never tried parsnip fries before but these look amazing. Love that aoili too. I’d love this for a snack. 🙂

    1. Andrea says:

      Let me know if you give it a whirl!

  6. Lucy Rosborough says:

    We LOVE your father-in-law, Andrea! And I’m enjoying your ‘dishingupthedirt’ blog too.
    Can’t wait to make these parsnips, they look delicious! Love to you and Taylor and
    Happy Spring from Concord where we awoke to an inch or so of snow this morning.
    Lucy

    1. Andrea says:

      Thanks for the lovely comment Lucy! I’m glad you are enjoying the blog!

  7. That is so sweet – I can’t believe he sent you 20 pounds! April just turned into parsnip month, I think 🙂 I love parsnip fries and really need to try out a cashew aioli. Delish!

  8. MissFifi says:

    What a wonderful gift! So jealous! Enjoy them.

  9. Kathy says:

    I found an old packet of parsnip seeds last summer, through them in just to see what would happen. Not knowing anything about growing them, well as I was cleaning out that raised bed I realized that I had little parsnips coming up! I’ve left them to grow, I figured the snow we got two days was good for them! Can’t wait to try these fries if the little buggers get big enough. Love you blog!

    1. Andrea says:

      Let me know if/when you give them a whirl!

  10. Demetria says:

    i just discovered your blog – so lovely!!!!!

  11. Wowguy says:

    Parsnip fries. How healthy and tasty!

  12. Francesca says:

    These look awesome, Andrea!! Any idea what you’ll be doing with the other 19 pounds? I say, cake.

  13. Kim Donovan says:

    Andrea,

    I made your cauliflower “cous cous” this week and loved it! I do a lot of cycling and just ate a gigantic bowl of it for my lunch. Very satisfying! I am plan to go by Hutchins today to pick up some parsnips. I saw there were some available last week and I want try out this recipe!

    I have a suggestion for you for your parsnips–There is a new restaurant in Cambridge called Harlow and Alden and they serve a wonderful parsnip and blueberry crisp I tried to make it myself Here is what I did:
    roast 2 bags of parsnips with 1/2c sugar and 3/4 stick of butter.
    then add 1 pint of blueberries, 1 T honey, splash of apple cider vinegar, 1 T of vanilla
    top with traditional crumble and cook like you would a crumble.

    H&A served it with ginger ice cream but I couldn’t find ginger ice cream so I actually grated some ginger into the mixture and served with vanilla ice cream! It had a nice subtle ginger flavor to it. The other thing I did was I cooked it in the same cast iron pan I roasted the parsnips in.

    I love your blog and have told many friends about it! Thank you. Your father-in-law is a wonderful human being!

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