Textures of Parsnips

Collaboration - The act or process of collaborating. A product resulting of collaboration.

Nothing gets my creative juices flowing more than working with a talented person. So it goes without saying that any day that I can work with Natasha from 5 Star Foodie is a great day.

For this month's collaboration we decided to build dishes around the color white.  There is something truly elegant about an all white dish.  Each component of the dish was to be white or mostly white.  This dish is a study in parsnips offering different preparation and textures.

Check out Lazaro's White Dish on 5 Star Foodie.

Enjoy another 5 Star Foodie Masterpiece...

My friend Lazaro is always full of wonderful ideas and inspiration to create amazing new dishes. When he suggested the idea for a project with a white color theme, I was definitely very excited to work with him on this concept. After a lot of thinking, for my dish I decided to focus on one single ingredient, parsnips.

Parsnip is a root vegetable of European origin similar to a carrot but pale white in color and sweeter in taste when cooked. Parsnips are often overlooked in favor of other root vegetables especially since the potatoes have been introduced from America to the rest of the world. They are most often used in soups, stews, or side dishes along with other root vegetables. In my dish, however, the parsnip is a star. I prepared the parsnips in various ways to explore different textures and flavors of this vegetable.

The centerpiece is the parsnip custard, with a delicate, smooth, pudding-like texture and a naturally sweet flavor of the parsnip. The surrounding parsnip velouté is perfectly silky and creamy, and white pepper is the unique flavor enhancement in this component. The dehydrated parsnips chips provide a lovely crunchy contrast to the smooth textures of the velouté and add a bit of saltiness to the overall flavor profile.

The goat cheese parsnip snow is perhaps the most playful component here. The frozen flakes don't actually melt right away, and in addition of adding a unique textural effect of "snow", they also provide an interesting contrast in temperature and add a perfect touch of acidity to the dish. This goat cheese "snow" can be used as a unique garnish for many other dishes, with or without parsnip powder addition.

Ingredients:

chips & powder
1 large parsnip
Coarse salt

Goat cheese parsnip "snow"
2 oz creamy goat cheese
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons parsnips powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Parsnip Velouté
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups parsnips, cubed
1 onion, chopped
3 cups vegetable stock
Salt, white pepper to taste
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup cream

Parsnip custard
2 large parsnips, cubed
Vegetable stock
Salt to taste
1 cup milk
3 egg yolks
Pinch of grated nutmeg

Directions:
chips & powder
Peel and thinly slice the parsnip, using a very sharp knife or a mandoline. Bring water to boil in a pot. Drop the parsnip slices in and boil for about 1 minute. Blanch in ice water for two minutes. Pat dry well and arrange on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Dehydrate in the oven on 200°F for about 2 hours or until crispy.

Reserve enough chips for plating and grind the rest into fine powder.

Goat cheese parsnip "snow"
In a bowl, combine goat cheese, white balsamic vinegar, parsnips powder, and salt. Whisk until very smooth. Form into a log in a plastic wrap, close tightly and freeze for at least two hours, until frozen solid.

Parsnip Velouté
Melt butter in a large pot. Add parsnips and onions and cook for a few minutes. Add stock and bring to boil. Season with salt and white pepper.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet and add flour, stirring continuously. Place the mixture in the pot with the parsnips and mix to blend. Cover and cook on medium-low heat until the parsnips are very tender. Blend with an immersion blender and strain through a fine sieve back into the pot. Whisk in the cream. Warm up before serving and blend with an immersion blender again.

Parsnip custard
Place parsnips in a pot, pour enough stock to cover the parsnips. Bring to boil, season with salt, and simmer until parsnips are tender. Puree the parsnips in a food processor with just a little bit of liquid, adding more if necessary. Strain the puree.

Add 1/2 cup of the parsnips puree into a bowl along with milk, egg yolks, and a pinch of nutmeg. Whisk into a smooth mixture. Pour into well oiled ramekins (should be enough for about four to six 1/4 cup size ramekins). Place the ramekins in a baking dish and fill with water half-way up. Place baking pan with ramekins on middle rack in oven. Bake on 350° until custards are set, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the cups to a rack to cool completely, uncovered.

to assemble
Carefully invert the custards on each plate. Pour velouté around the custard. Arrange the parsnips chips over the custard and the velouté. At the last minute, the frozen goat cheese and shred it all over each plate.