HFF 6.19: Soups and Stews

The Challenge: Soups & Stews. Make a soup, stew, broth, or anything served in a bowl.

The Recipe: Escalloped Parsnips from Dr. Chase's Third, Last, and Complete Receipt Book and Home Physician (I'm counting it, since it was in the middle of a bunch of stew recipes, and I also served it in a bowl.)

The Date/Year and Region: 1890, Detroit, Michigan/Windsor, Ontario

 

How Did You Make It: Half scale. I started by peeling, and boiling 10 or so small parnsips until they were tender; mashed, they yielded a generous cup. To this I added 1 Tbsp of unsalted butter, 1 Tbsp 2% milk, 1/2 tsp salt, and a dash of pepper, and mixed it all well with a wooden spoon. I tried putting the mixture back on the stovetop to bubble, but it was already so thick that I gave that up in short order--the texture and consistency was comparable to nice mashed potatoes. I buttered a glass oven-safe bowl, put in the mashed parsnip, sprinkled it with plain breadcrumbs, and dotted small pieces of butter over the top. I baked it at 325F for about 13 minutes.

 

Time to Complete: Around 45 minutes, since I started the water boiling while I peeled the parsnips, and cut them small so they'd cook quickly.

 

Total Cost: Parnsips were out of my garden, and the rest of the ingredients are pantry staples or left over from other dishes, so I don't have figures to hand.

 

How Successful Was It?: Tasty. The butter/milk/salt/pepper proportions make a nice, rich mashed parsnip with a good texture. I don't generally care for crust on soft foods, so I was a little scant on the breadcrumbs. If making this for someone else, I'd probably aim for a crisper, more golden crust (not only using more bread crumbs, but also baking at a slightly higher temperature or for a longer time). While it tastes fine as is, I think there's some potential to experiment with different seasonings, particularly in the crust.

How Accurate Is It? Made on an electric stove/oven, and with purchased bread crumbs, so there were a lot of modern short-cuts. I don't think most of these affected the flavor of the final dish, though the choice of baking dish certainly didn't give it's appearance any old-fashioned charm. I did use heirloom parsnips that I grew myself, which is always gratifying.

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