Day 344: Roasted Parsnips with Pine Nuts

Every once in a lucky while, you find a cookbook that's entirely cookable. And if it's an entirely readable history lesson, too? Foodie Heaven.

In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark launched the great exploration of the new Lousiana Purchase. The food logistics alone were enormous: there were no Safeways, no Whole Foods along the traverse of the Missouri River. How and what DID they eat? Well and a lot, it turns out, very well and a whole lot.

The Food Journal of Lewis & Clark by Mary Gunderson describes the expedition in terms of food, applying what Mary calls paleocuisineology -- bringing history alive through cooking -- to make a history book with recipes.

"Welcome to the table of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The dining cloth reaches across the North American continent, circa 1803 to 1806. There is more than enough room for each of us to crowd around. Linger at any point in the journey and a rich food history is at hand, revealing the larger story of the Expedition and its still-felt impact on our national consciousness. Such is the power of food. Dig in!" --- from the Food Journal of Lewis & Clark

It's a great read and -- for the real foodies among us -- eminently cookable. (Want to learn more? Visit HistoryCooks for lesson plans, sample recipes and other goodies.)

SO ALANNA ... WHAT ABOUT THE PARSNIPS? ... Roasted parsnips are wonderful! And the pine nuts are a natural complement. THESE roasted parsnips, too bad, were woody, no fault of the recipe. I'm finding it hard to tell when to cut out the center cores and when not, a discussion that also happened on Day 319. I think I will, from now on, just in case.

NEXT TIME ... I'll use fewer pine nuts since they're expensive price-wise and calorie-wise. Just a few would have been enough.

FROM THE ARCHIVES ... I know the roasting season is coming to a close but for cold-ish spring days, there are lots of roasted vegetable recipes in the Recipe Box.

ROASTED PARSNIPS with PINE NUTS
Adapted from Food Journal of Lewis & Clark
Bookmark or print this recipe only
Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 45 - 50 minutes
Serves 4

1 pound parsnips, peeled, cored in thick sections (see ALANNA's TIPS), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 - 2 tablespoons pine nuts (the inspiring recipe calls for 1/2 cup)
Malt vinegar (a trick from Day 319)

Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the parsnip pieces, olive oil, salt and pepper to combine well and transfer to a rimmer baking sheet. Roast for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350F and stir in the pine nuts. Roast another 20 minutes (or more) until golden, stirring occasionally. (I was busy and didn't stir. It didn't seem to matter.) Season again and sprinkle with malt vinegar. Serve and enjoy!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
With 1T pine nuts: Per Serving: 129 Cal (34% from Fat, 5% from Protein, 61% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 5 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 21 g Carb; 6 g Fiber; NetCarb15; 41 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 11 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 2 points

With 2T pine nuts: Per Serving: 143 Cal (39% from Fat, 5% from Protein, 56% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 7 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 21 g Carb; 6 g Fiber; NetCarb15; 42 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 12 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 2.5 points

With 1/2C pine nuts: Per Serving: 229 Cal (57% from Fat, 6% from Protein, 37% from Carb); 4 g Protein; 15 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 23 g Carb; 6 g Fiber; NetCarb17; 44 mg Calcium; 2 mg Iron; 12 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 5 points

ALANNA's TIPS

• To keep the pieces of roughly equivalent size, you might want to core only the thicker stem ends. To do this, first slice the thin root ends in one-inch pieces -- you might only get one or two. Then quarter the thick section, slice out the woody cores, then slice into one-inch pieces.
  

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