Parsnips and carrots is a simple vegetable side dish that packs a ton of flavor.
It’s something that my mom used to make when I was a kid, and I still remember it fondly decades later.
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Parsnips are sweet, and so are carrots. Cooked in butter with onions, this dish is a sweet treat that will have you coming back for more.
To make the perfect parsnips and carrots side dish, you’ll need to sauté the veggies low and slow, until they caramelize and sweeten up.
We used to enjoy our colorful vegetable dish with meat and potatoes, which is the usual North American fare.
Now that I’m vegetarian, I turn parsnips and carrots into a complete meal together with grain, lentils, and a green salad.
Parsnips
You might not have tried parsnips before.
They are warming and sweet, with a touch of bitterness.
Parsnips are pretty unique in the sense that they are both building and cleansing at the same time.
Parsnips are anti-inflammatory, a good source of potassium, and a mild diuretic.
Carrots
Carrots, on the other hand, are cooling, sweet, bitter and pungent.
You’ll see that with both carrots and parsnips, the sweet taste predominates. So don’t be scared of the other flavors.
While parsnips are white and bland, carrots are orange and filled with beta carotene, a pre-cursor to vitamin A.
You’ve probably heard that carrots are good for the skin and eyes, but you might not have learned how carrots are nourishing for the liver and blood.
Like parsnips, due to the dual sweet and bitter tastes, you have both a supportive building quality and a cleansing quality in carrots.
Carrots are among the easiest to digest foods according to Ayurveda, so you can eat them frequently without fear of digestiveupset.
I enjoy using a vegetable brush to clean the skins. I don’t peel the carrots to preserve more of their nutrition.
Onions
Fresh onions are pungent, spicy, and stimulating, but cooked onions are sweeter and bring a grounding quality to the mind.
Together with the carrots, parsnips and butter, the onions are very pleasing.
Just make sure you cook them well to bring out the sweet taste and enhance this overall dish.
Parsnips and Carrots Recipe
Helpful Kitchen Tools:
- medium skillet with lid
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons ghee or butter
- 1 ½ cups carrots, sliced on the diagonal
- 1 ½ cups parsnips, sliced on the diagonal
- ¼ cup onions, sliced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat ghee or butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.
- Add sliced carrots, parsnips, and onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Sauté, covered, until starting to soften, about 10 minutes.
- Continue to cook uncovered until lightly browned. About 5 minutes.
- Enjoy. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon if you like.
Nutrition
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