Parsnip Cream Fritters (1846)

• 1 lb parsnips
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbspn lemon juice
• Rind of 1 lemon
• 4 tbspns of butter, melted
• 1/4 tspn nutmeg
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• Salt and white pepper to taste

Cut off the parsnips' root ends and tops. Boil the parsnips in their skins in salted water until fork tender, anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. When they are cool, strip off and discard their skins. Cut the parsnips in pieces and puree.

Beat the eggs into the cream, and then beat this mixture into the puree with the lemon juice, lemon rind, half the butter, and the seasonings. Taste for seasoning.

Shape puree into 3-inch cakes and roll in bread crumbs. Heat remaining butter in a skillet, and fry the parsnip cakes, adding more butter if needed. Serves 4.

"If you don't want to bother shaping the puree into fritters, simply pile it into a buttered baking dish and brown it in the oven."

More "Lost" Parsnips Recipes

Parsnips Stewed in Dark Beer (1627)

Parsnips in Candied Orange Sauce (1964)

(Origin - "I Hear America Singing - The Cooks and Recipes of American Regional Cuisine" by Betty Fussell, published by Penguin Books, 1986. Author found this recipe in "Domestic Receipt Book" by Miss Beecher, published in 1846.) 

Parsnips in Candied Orange Sauce (1964)

• 12 small parsnips, cooked
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tbspns brown sugar
• 2 tbspns light syrup
• 1/2 tspn salt
• 1/4 tspn paprika
• 2 tbspns butter
• Grated orange peel

Place cooked parsnips in shallow 9-x-12-inch casserole dish. Combine orange juice, brown sugar, syrup, salt, and paprika. Pour over parsnips.

Dot with butter, and sprinkle with orange peel. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Yield: 6 servings.

Another "Lost" Parsnips Recipe

Parsnips Stewed in Dark Beer (1627)

(Origin - "Salads and Vegetables - Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers" by Favorite Recipes Press, 1964. This recipe was by Mrs Juanita Patton of Inola High School in Inola, Oklahoma.) 

Parsnips Stewed in Dark Beer (1627)

• 1 lb parsnips, peeled and cut in 2-inch chunks (halve the thick chunks from the top of the parsnips lengthwise so that they willk cook tender in about the same time as the thinner root ends)
• 1 cup dark beer or stout
• A 1-inch piece of stick cinnamon
• 2 large blades of mace
• 3 whole cloves
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper

Place all ingredients in a heavy, medium-size saucepan and simmer, covered, 30 to 35 minutes until you can pierce parsnips easily with a fork. Turn heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes longer until the beer or stout has thickened into a glaze.  

Remove cinnamon, mace, and cloves, and serve parsnips hot as an accompaniment to roast fowl, ham, or pork.

(Origin - "Recipes from America's Restored Villages" by Jean Anderson, 1975. This recipe was taken from the Plimouth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in existence from 1627 to 1691.)