parsnip purée topped with almond parmesan

before this year i didn’t know what a parsnip was.  it looks a bit like a blond-colored carrot that gets much wider at the top, and it tastes a bit like a carrot too!  but it has a clean fresh note to it as well, which really creates a bright flavor in any dish you add it too.  this dish is so incredibly simple, with just a few ingredients because the flavors of the parsnip really shine on their own.

this classic dish much resembles mashed potatoes, but it is thicker, smoother and more flavorful.  because i’ve seen other versions often topped with copious amounts of parmesan cheese, i mixed up a batch of my own version of parmesan.  this mixture won’t trick anyone into thinking it’s an actual dairy product, but it adds that lovely rich cheesey flavor that really fills out the dish and that texture of finely crumbled parmesan.  it’s also great over pastas, on top of casseroles or sprinkled on a salad.

parsnip purée
2 lbs parsnips
6 c water
1 tsp salt
1/4 c almond or other non-dairy milk
1/4 c olive oil
1 tsp salt

almond parmesan
1/2 c almonds
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp salt

peel the parsnips and chop them up into roughly evenly sized pieces.  the water with 1 teaspoon salt to a boil, drop the parsnip pieces in and boil on high or medium-high for 20 minutes until soft and tender, then strain.

while cooking, you can make the almond parmesan.  blend the almonds (cashews work too), nutritional yeast and salt in a blender or food processor until the nuts have broken up into a fine meal.  you’ll have some left over, so use it on other dishes too, but once ground store in the fridge and use within 1 week.

then blend or food process the cooked parsnip pieces with the olive oil, almond milk and 1 teaspoon salt, in batches if needed.  spoon into a bowl and top with the almond parmesan to be served immediately, while still warm.

yields 2-3 servings