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To Fry Parsnips
Peel and parboil the parsnips. Slice lengthwise, and fry with fat pork, sprinkling over them salt, pepper, and sugar. Grate bread crumbs over it and serve. Salsify may be cooked the same way.--Mrs. S. T.
A short, forgiving side dish. The only technical demand is that the parsnips be parboiled far enough to be tender before they hit the fat, since the frying is for color and sweetness, not for cooking them through.
- ParboilingThe recipe boils the roots whole and slices them afterwards. Ten to fifteen minutes in salted boiling water for a medium parsnip, until a knife meets slight resistance. Drain and dry them well; wet parsnips steam in the pan instead of browning.
- Fat porkThis means salt pork or streaky fatback, sliced thin and rendered in the pan first. Bacon works, though it brings smoke and sugar the original did not have. Two or three ounces gives enough fat for a pound of parsnips.
- The sugarParsnips are already sweet, and the sprinkle of sugar is there to caramelize at the edges. Use it sparingly, a teaspoon at most, and add it in the last few minutes or it will scorch in the hot pork fat.
- SlicingLengthwise means split in halves or quarters, not coins. Trim out the woody core of large roots; older, thicker parsnips turn fibrous at the center.
- Bread crumbsGrated crumbs from a stale loaf, not the fine dry commercial sort. Scatter them over at the end so they take up fat and crisp; they will go leathery if added while the pan is still wet.
- SalsifyAlso sold as oyster plant. It discolors quickly once peeled, so drop the pieces into acidulated water until you are ready to parboil; the recipe treats it exactly as it does parsnip, so parboil to the same point of slight resistance.
- YieldA pound of parsnips serves three or four as a side. Serve straight from the pan; the crumb topping softens within minutes.
Parsnips were a staple winter root in Virginia kitchens, valued because they keep in the ground through frost and in fact grow sweeter for it, as cold converts starch to sugar. Housekeeping in Old Virginia (1879) was assembled by Marion Cabell Tyree from contributions by named and initialed housewives from Virginia and neighbouring states, which is why this one carries only "Mrs. S. T." -- a genuine domestic formula passed along rather than a professional cook's composition. The pairing with salt pork is a common Southern treatment for vegetables of the period, and the note that salsify may be treated the same way reflects that oyster plant was then a common kitchen-garden root, grown partly for the faintly shellfish flavor that is traditionally said to have given it its name.