Roasted Autumn Vegetables

Do you eat parsnips, Bubblelanders?  I've always thought of parsnips as something hobbits might throw in their turnip stew.  (Because all 'nip vegetables make for a great second lunch.)  I've never really eaten them - that I know of - and I've been seeing them in quite a few seasonal recipes.  What the heck?  Let's give some parsnips a whirl!

Looka lika carrot

 The parsnip is in fact related to a carrot.  I peeled them and took a little nibble of it raw.  It had a stronger, sweeter taste than a carrot and it was much more difficult to cut.

The recipe I had wasn't really a recipe per say.  I skimmed the internet to get a general idea of seasonings and cooking times.  I purchased some fingerling potatoes and baby carrots to roast with the parsnips.  I also had some leftover green peppers and a little bit of red so I tossed them in too.  Why not?  Bell peppers make everything better!  And while we're getting crazy, let's toss in an onion and season the whole thing up.

The bell pepper added some nice color too

My sous chef, Buster, took his usual spot on the kitchen mat and was a great help.

You got some meat up there?

 I thought I'd chop everything a little smaller than I might usually in order to make it cook faster.  Yeah, still took a good while.  So we waited.  And waited.

Root veggies take some time.  But good things come to those that wait!

Finally

It smelled wonderful.

During the last little bit of cook time, I popped some lovely parmesan tilapia on the stove top.  (Got it from the Fresh Market 2-for-1.  Fresh Market victory!) 

Overhead view

Veggie closeup, Mr. DeMille

Moment of truth?  Yum.  I like parsnips!  The Hubs likes parsnips!  The whole dinner was hearty, healthy, and tasted great.  The only tweak I think I might make would be to use red potatoes next time to add more color.  But that's minor.

With that success, I wonder what I should do with parsnips next?  Maybe I should now give turnips a try?!    Until then!

Roasted Autumn Vegetables

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium sized parsnips, chopped
• About 10-12 fingerling potatoes
• 1 bag baby carrots
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 red bell pepper, chopped
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fresh parsley
• Dry rosemary
• Dry thyme
• Kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425º
2. Toss all of the vegetable together with a generous coating of evoo.  Season liberally with parsley, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper - to taste.
3. Cook 1 hour to a little longer for desired vegetable softness.