1966 WDEC - South Dakota - Parsnip Fritters

Instructions, not really a recipe, for a simple side dish: Scrub parsnips and cook in boiling salted water until tender. Plunge into cold water and slip off skins. Mash. Season to taste with butter, salt, pepper, and sugar. Flour hands. Shape parsnip mixture into small flat cakes. Saute in butter until delicately browned on each side.

Cooking Notes: I boiled, mashed and mixed the parsnips the night before I made and cooked the patties. The parsnips had thin skins that steadfastly resisted "slipping off.." Using a vegetable scrubber wouldn't work because they were too tender, and for the same reason it was hard to pare off the skin without taking a lot of parsnip with it. So, since this was intended for a family dinner, the skins ended up being mashed with the rest of the parsnip "meat." I used latex gloves instead of flouring my hands and was really pleased with the non-sticking results. For just under a pound of parsnips I used about 1/4 tsp each of salt and black pepper, a couple of generous tablespoons of butter (softened to room temperature so it would mix more easily) and no sugar.

Eating Notes: These were sort of like paleo pancakes (except for the butter). They were plenty sweet enough and the simple spicing was just fine, although a touch of mace or nutmeg would have added a nice note. Using a food processor would have allowed me to combine the ingredients to a greater homogeneity, but we actually liked the more homestyle texture of the potato-masher approach. It balanced nicely, too, with the crispy, buttery crust from the frying. A winner.

Next Up: Moving on to Tennessee, since I still don't have any rhubarb.