Parsnips and Shepherd's Pie
Roasted carrots and parsnips * how to prepare parsnips * Shepherd’s PieRoasted carrots and parsnipsAbout 1 lb each carrots and parsnips, scraped and cut into sticks about 2” longOlive oilSaltpepperPreheat oven to 425. Pour olive oil in a 9x13 pan to just barely cover the bottom, then add carrot and parsnip pieces. Drizzle another Tbsp of olive oil over the vegetables and add salt and pepper. Stir with a spatula and turn over the vegetables until they’re coated with oil. Add more salt and pepper. Cook for 20 minutes, remove and stir. Return to oven and cook for another 15 or 20 minutes or until tender.Shepherd’s PieLeftover vegetablesLeftover meatLeftover gravyLeftover mashed potatoesPreheat oven to 350. Place the vegetables in a 9x9” pan with the meat on top (in bite-sized pieces). Pour about one cup of gravy into the dish and top with mashed potatoes. Bake for about 30 minutes or until heated through and the potatoes are starting to brown.Welcome to the Real Life Cooking Podcast. I’m Kate Shaw and this week we’re going to learn how to cook parsnips. Specifically, we’re going to learn how to roast parsnips and carrots, which go well together and which make a fantastic accompaniment for turkey. Then we’re also going to learn how to make shepherd’s pie to use up your Thanksgiving leftovers.Parsnips look sort of like pale yellow-white carrots, and they taste slightly sweet like carrots too but with a little more zing and a chewier texture that I really like. They also pair well with carrots. You peel them just like carrots, then slice the tops off just like carrots, and for this recipe you cut them into little sticks just like you do carrots. Parsnips often have much bigger tops than carrots of the same length do, though, which taper to a much thinner end.For this recipe, all you need is a 9x13 pan with sides. Pour enough olive oil into the pan to just cover the bottom with a thin layer when you tilt it around, then set it aside.Next, clean and cut up about a pound each of carrots and parsnips. You can cut these into sticks or pennies, but I think you get a better texture and flavor from the sticks. You can start with baby carrots, but you still need to slice them up. You want the pieces to be thin so they’ll cook faster. I typically cut the baby carrots in half lengthways, and cut the parsnips into pieces about the same size. This takes a while, but it’s not difficult and you can listen to a podcast or some music while you work.When you’re about halfway done cutting the vegetables up, turn the oven on to preheat to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. By the time you finish the oven will be hot.Once you’ve got the carrots and parsnips cut up, put them into the pan and drizzle more olive oil over them—not a lot, maybe about a Tablespoonful. Sprinkle salt and pepper over them, then use a spatula to carefully stir them around and turn them over until they’re pretty well coated with oil. Then sprinkle more salt and pepper over them and put them in the oven.Set the timer for 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, take the pan out of the oven. You need to really give those vegetables a good stir and that’s hard to do while they’re still in the oven. Make sure to close the oven door so heat doesn’t escape while you’re working. Use the spatula to turn the vegetables over again and stir them around. They’ll still be hard at this point.Put the pan back in the oven when you’re done and set the timer for 15 minutes this time. When the timer goes off, use a fork to test a few of the pieces. They’re probably not fully softened yet but they may be, depending on how thin you cut them. If they’re not tender, stir them again and set the timer for another five minutes. They should be done at this point unless you cut them pre