Although we think of parsnips as mostly an autumn crop and enjoy them all winter, when I was growing up, most gardeners left the bulk of these biennials in the ground until spring so they would sweeten during their winter’s rest.
First or last, it doesn’t matter
Technically, spring-dug parsnips are not the first crop of the season in the north, they are after all, leftover roots from last year’s harvest that were simply stored outside in the frozen earth, unpulled, until the snow melts and the frost leaves the ground. But I still like to think of them as the first since it is a marker that spring has actually arrived. Little sprouts of green appear on the tops of the parsnips, a sign this plant is ready to begin its seed-setting season. Pickup trucks are spotted parked at rest areas with big signs advertising their arrival. I bought mine for years at such a rest stop, and it still appears each spring.
Almost a different vegetable
Spring parsnips are quite different from those dug in autumn. They are more tender and sweeter, as their intense flavor mellows over the winter’s rest, and they cook quicker too. In my book, this rest is essential to enjoying parsnips, but my husband would disagree as they are one of his favorites no matter the season.
A lovely new crop
Farmers here often harvest some in the fall and hold some for spring. This year’s new crop is beautiful. Sometimes they don’t winter well, but the ones I found this week at a local farm were fairly creamy in appearance and held few deep blemishes or craters.
Kale rabe, another spring treasure
At the same farm, I found some kale rabe, one of our favorites at this time of year. Resembling broccoli rabe, but sweeter, kale rabe is also known commonly as napini, or the budding stems and young leaves of the kale plant as it enters its second year. Like parsnips, kale is a biennial, which means it forms a sturdy plant the first year – this is what we usually eat when we think of kale – and sends a flower stalk up early the second year to set seeds. Although any variety of kale can in theory be wintered over, the Russian/Siberian varieties are best suited to our area as they are the most cold-hardy.
If you don’t like kale, you might like kale rabe
Napini is harvested just before the flowers open, and the result is an extremely tender and sweet spring vegetable, much sweeter than any kale you’ve ever had, still with a bit of a bitter edge. Filled with as much nutrition, when they tell us to eat more dark green leafy vegetables, this is at the head of the class. If you can’t find kale rabe, you can substitute broccoli rabe or chopped baby kale here.
Highly nutritious
With a combination of parsnips and kale, one would be hard-pressed to find two vegetable companions carrying more nutrition, lots of vitamins and minerals, everything from Vitamin A to Zinc, fiber, anti-oxidants, phytonutrients, and they are beneficial for everything from your eyes to your heart, fighter of diabetes and high blood pressure, inflammation and high cholesterol. Garnish with chervil and you’re all set for a feast.
I bet you want to cook some right now!
Gifts from the garden
My garden offered up its own gifts this spring – lovely red lettuce babies that wintered over as well as beautiful chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium), one of my favorite herbs, and another biennial usually treated as an annual. It has a mild almost anise flavor, and slight peppery taste. Rest assured; the chervil has already been used in my kitchen, and will keep me happy all summer since it is difficult to find at the markets. You never know what will survive a northern winter, so these gifts are always deeply appreciated.
Perfect for chilly spring nights
This side is hearty and perfect for a rainy spring night of which we have been blessed of late, and more to come. To keep this on the healthy side, and to avoid saturated fat and dairy, I opted for a ‘cream’ sauce made with plant milk, olive oil, and white whole wheat flour. You can use fat-free or any dairy if you like, or use butter if you don’t have to watch your saturated fat intake. The white sauce came out quite nice, and would be great for any creamed vegetable. It didn’t need much here in terms of enhancements since it was being added to a very flavorful mix, but for a simpler veggie preparation, you could add a dollop of French mustard to liven it up.
Of course, we can make our own stock too, it doesn’t take much time
I prepped my vegetables early and used all the trimmings to make a quick little pot of veggie stock. Got to put those scraps to work!
Creamed Spring-Dug Parsnips with Kale Rabe and Ginger
- 2 cups oat milk, or other plant or dairy milk
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 tbsp. white whole wheat flour
- Grated nutmeg to taste
- One leek, light green and some of the dark, sliced, about two cups
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. ginger, finely grated on a microplane
- 1 tbsp. turmeric, finely grated on a microplane
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 500 g. (a bit more than a pound) spring-dug parsnips, chopped
- 275 g. (10 oz.) kale rabe, broccoli rabe, or baby kale, cut in half
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- A little fresh chervil or parsley if you have it, minced
- Breadcrumbs and a bit of Parmesan or vegan Parmesan to top
Prep your veggies, gather all your ingredients, and butter an 11” X 8” (28 cm X 20 cm) casserole dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. (190 C.).
Then start your sauce. Place milk and bay leaves in a small saucepan and heat to a simmer. While it is not essential to preheat the milk for a white sauce, and it does take an extra pan, I find it helps it all come together faster and you end up with no lumps. Since I do the cooking and my husband does the washing up, I don’t care about the second pan. Heartless, I know.
In a saucepan, combine the olive oil and the flour over medium high heat, whisking for a minute or two to cook the flour. Slowly add the warmed milk a little at a time, whisking all the while, then stir in some freshly grated nutmeg, about ten swipes on a microplane. Cover and set aside.
In a large skillet, add the tablespoon of olive oil add the leek and sauté until soft. Toss in the ginger, turmeric, and garlic, mix it all up well, then add the parsnips. Let them brown on one side, turn, then add the stock. Once starting to soften with just a little uncooked in the center, add the rabe, cover, and cook for about five minutes. The turmeric will do its work and start coloring everything.
Add the white sauce (soon to be pale yellow), chervil or parsley if using, mix well, then turn into the buttered casserole. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and a little grated Parmesan or vegan Parmesan if you like, and toss in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables finish cooking and the top starts to brown.
Please tell me you own a microplane!
If not, you certainly need to invest! I’m not talking a big investment either. My first “microplane” was actually a rasp I bought at the hardware store for 89 cents about 25 years ago. It still works beautifully. I have a fancy one with a handle now that was a gift, and I do like the feature of the handle, but in a pinch, my old standby is still drafted into service.
Grate citrus zest, whole frozen lemons, garlic, ginger, turmeric, nutmeg and other whole spices, frozen butter, Parmesan and other hard cheese, and chocolate for a topping. In this recipe alone, I used it for the garlic, turmeric, ginger, and Parmesan.
It also works great shaving the burnt edges off toast.
In the garden…
Our chervil wintered over nicely and will delight us all season. One of my favorite herbs, and it’s a bit difficult to find at the markets. Peas are up! I planted the weeks ago, and this past week’s rain helped them along. Put in an asparagus bed last year, and the first sprouts have arrived. I won’t pick this year, well maybe one big fat one, and let them strengthen so I can happily harvest next year.
Copyright 2025– or current year, The New Vintage Kitchen. Dorothy Grover-Read. Unattributed use of this material and photographs is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to The New Vintage Kitchen, with active link and direction to this original post.
The New Vintage Kitchen does not accept ads or payment for mention of products or businesses.
Supporter of: Slow Food Fair Trade USA Northeast Organic Farmers Association EcoWatch Let’s Save Our Planet No Kid Hungry Hunger Free Vermont Environmental Working Group World Central Kitchen Sustainable America Seed Savers Exchange
Save the Children Vermont Farm to Plate
Hi Dorothy, I have never eaten a parsnip. Mom doesn’t like them so we’ve never had them. Your recipe does sound good.
Thank you! I had to chuckle because I never had broccoli growing up because my mother hated it! I must have been in my mid-teens when I had it at a friend’s house and was hooked from the start!
Moms have power 😂
They do, perpetually!
Thank you, Dorothy, for the wonderful dish, especially for me as I love all vegetables!
Joanna
Then you would love this tasty one Joanna! They bring out the best in each other.
Spring comfort food at its best! I doubt I can get such fresh parsnips, nor kale rabe, but am very tempted to try this dish even with the ones I can get here. Love the addition of fresh ginger and turmeric in there. 🙂
Sounds good to me. There are are always substitutions.
This looks really interesting! I’ve done a mashed rutabaga that has some similar elements. Every season has its delights!
It certainly does Nora! Even the in-between ones!
P.S. I love rutabagas!
I love parsnips. Like a cross between sweet carrot and potato.
They are unique!
I love parsnips too – a lovely puree or roasted.
A parsnip purée is really tasty!
Parsnips are so lovely. They were a vegetable I discovered after growing up.
They were absent from many a table it seems, probably what the mother/cook didn’t like!
It may have been they were hard to grow. I don’t remember us buying vegetables when I was a kid. We had a large garden and that’s what we ate from.
The absolute best way to eat!
Love your post and the recipe but have to admit I knew nought about over-wintering the vegetable! Your dish looks great especially since I also have been a parsnip lover since childhood – it just tasted more exciting than many other vegetables on my plate 🙂 ! Lucky you with all that chervil . . . mine is in a pot at the moment !!!
I was delighted to find my chervil so happy after winter! It has always been a favorite of mine, but it’s hard to find, I think it is too tender to travel well. So I usually end up growing it myself. Sweet Cicely as well.
I don’t think I have ever had parsnips. I have never heard of Kale Rabi. At first I thought it said kohlrabi which I love. Lol
You might see the kale rabe this time of year at a local farm, but you can substitute broccoli rabe, or just use baby Jake.
I’ll have to make more parsnips; this recipe looks wonderful!
Thank you! The ginger really perks them up after their long winters rest!
Parsnips are hit or miss for me but this looks absolutely delicious. Maybe it’s time to let them shine (mostly) on their own?!?!?!
This is the best time of year to give them another try!
I would enjoy this so much. Thank you for sharing all this goodness with us. I enjoy parsnips, but I am unsure if I have ever had spring parsnips. I need to get to our local market this Sunday to see if they have any. If not, I may find them in Pennsylvania when we get back.
Thanks sis! Happy hunter gathering!
Nice!
Thank you!
I’m thinking of saying “fine words butter no parsnips” as I look at the photo of your delicious recipe. Not that the lack of butter in your recipe is a problem, just that sometimes my mind goes to literary references. 🤓
Thanks for the kind words and the chuckle! Haven’t heard that expression for a dog’s age!
It is so exciting to see that your chervil overwintered so beautifully Dorothy! Fingered crossed mine is in the same shape next year:)
I was delighted! The gamble sometimes pays off!
I love your passion that come alive in all of your delicious shares. I didn’t know of Kale’s tasty partner.
Thank you! Now you will see parsnips everywhere!
You are welcome dear Dorothy. You are very tastefully health conscious. Keep the nourishing and flavorful recipes coming. 💕
Oh I will! Thank you for your kind visit!
As I sit sipping my lemongrass and ginger tea contemplating breakfast, Dorothy, I am salivating at the thought of your recipe. Which, by the way, I’d happily eat right now.
Thanks Carolyn! It would be delicious for breakfast!
I don’t often say so, but I absolutely LOVE the way you write! Just as you mentioned chervil, I thought, “hmm, I wonder what that tastes like?” And then, of course, you described the flavor! Making me hungry, as always! And about that extra pot, something tells me that with all the incredible aromas and flavors that seem to be in constant rotation in your kitchen, your husband has zero complaints about washing those dishes! 😁 He’s a lucky man!
Thanks! He doesn’t complain too much Terrie, because he knows he’s going to have something good. Also, standing at the sink is his zen time.
One of my favorite veggies to eat – so sweet! This looks delicious!
Thanks Julie! They are definitely an underused vegetable!
I just bought some parsnips last week, but they seemed a bit shriveled and I think that were harvested in the fall. I don’t think that I’ve ever had a spring-harvested parsnip, but you make me really want to try them. They sound wonderful.
Now that you know of them, you will probably see them!
Delicious! Hooray for asparagus, that’s an exciting one for the future. 😊
Love asparagus, but the fiddlehead ferns are up and that will satisfy me for a few days!
The ginger is an addition I wouldn’t have thought of. It must add a brightness to the dish.
It does Mary. I love ginger with carrots, and they are so close in flavor to parsnips that it made total sense!