The sweet heartiness of parsnip soup is perfect to get you cozy on a cold winter day! If, in case, you don’t have some parsnips around, Tastessence tells you some substitutes that could work well!
Did You Know
Parsnips were used as a source of sugar in Europe before sugarcane and beets were discovered.
Be it in soups, roasted or puréed, you just can’t imagine a hearty meal on a cold winter day without the trusty ol’ parsnip! We don’t know anyone who could resist the mash of this vegetable with a few good dollops of butter, a bite of its sweet-tasting flesh with braised pork, or crisp roasted parsnip with some herbaceous buttery chicken.
This root vegetable looks like the albino cousin of carrots, don’t you think? Parsnips, after frost, have a sweet and nutty taste as the starch in parsnips gets converted into sugars around this time. This vegetable is usually seasonal, found from somewhere between September and March. It can last in your refrigerator for almost two weeks if stored properly.
If you don’t have parsnips at home and don’t intend to make another trip to the grocery store, here are some vegetables that would be probably be lying around in your refrigerator that you could replace parsnips with.
Parsnip Substitutes
Turnips
Replacing one winter vegetable with another, the sweet and succulent flesh of young turnips make an excellent alternative for parsnips. Turnips are great boiled, steamed, or stir fried with a good helping of butter of course! Raw ones can also be added to salads. If stored well, this veggie could last for two weeks in the refrigerator.
Celery Root
Celery root, or celeriac, is a brownish white-colored root vegetable that somewhat resembles mandrake roots from the Harry Potter movies, luckily sans the fatal screams! Its starchy flesh with strong hints of celery is just divine. It is ideal in soups, stews, and purées. You could also boil, bake, or braise it. This vegetable will remain fresh for seven to ten days in the refrigerator.
Carrots
Loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, and fibers, just calling it healthy would be a mighty understatement! Most commonly available are the orange-colored carrots, but red and white ones are also available. This vegetable goes equally well in sweet and savory dishes and is eaten raw as well, and is found in almost every cuisine.
Tip: Do not store carrots near apples as ethylene gas from the apples could make the carrots bitter!
Salsify
This root vegetable is more popular in Europe than it is in America. It has long cylindrical brown-colored roots with a white center. This root veggie is also known as oyster plant because of its delicate oyster-like flavor, sometimes with a slight hint of artichoke. It is usually peeled after it is cooked. It is usually boiled and served with a white sauce; sometimes, these boiled roots are coated with a batter and deep-fried. This vegetables can be stored for almost two weeks in a refrigerator.
Sweet Potatoes
It is a starchy sweet-tasting distant cousin of the potato. There are usually two varieties of sweet potatoes; a pale lighter colored variant that has a sort of yellowish-colored flesh, and a darker version with thick skin and a sort of orange-red skin. This too is a winter vegetable (although it may be present all year round). The darker variety is comparatively drier and less sweet than the light-colored ones. Sweet potatoes can be stored for about 3 weeks in a cool, dry, and dark place.
Parsley Root
Parsley roots could be easily mistaken for parsnips due to their similar appearance. Their starchy flesh is loaded with a cross of parsley and celery flavor. Their aromaticity makes them a great addition in soups, purées, and mashes. It also tastes great when baked, sautéed, or fried.
