Recipes: Parsnips (My Favorite!)

Parsnips are the unpopular super root of the vegetable world.  I'm on a one woman mission to tell the world about them.  Parsnips are the perfect "first food" for babies.  They are naturally sweeter than carrots, can be roasted, steamed, or boiled, they are jam packed with vitamins and nutrients and my favorite is they're inexpensive and easy to make.  Wikipedia says "The parsnip is richer in vitamins and minerals than its close relative, the carrot. It is particularly rich in potassium with 600 mg per 100 g. The parsnip is also a good source of dietary fiber. A 100-g parsnip contains 75 Calories of energy."

Parsnip Puree

2 pounds of Parsnips (washed, peeled and cut into 1/2 cubes)

3 Tablespoons of soften butter

1 1/2 cups of warm water or vegetable stock

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 400°F. Peel parsnips, make a cut off the top of the fat end of each parsnip. This will show you extent of the inner core. Often this core is stringy and woody, especially at the larger end of the parsnip. When you are prepping the parsnips, cut around this core.

Lay out the parsnips on a roasting pan (covered with foil and spray grease) in a single layer. Sprinkle with nutmeg and salt.  Roast in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, at 400°F, until lightly golden, turning the parsnips once half-way through the cooking.

Put cooked parsnips into a food processor. Add half of the water, and pulse until puréed to the desired consistency add more water if necessary.

This is a photo of my cute 4 oz jars that I freeze.  For these I added Pears as well.  You should wait to add different foods until your baby has moved up to stage 2.