Ingredients
1 large parsnip (4" x 10", about 4 cups when cut in 1/4" dice)
1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1-1/2 cups beef or chicken broth (vegetable broth might work good too, but it should have a lot of flavor)
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts (I prefer the Chinese kind, but there really isn’t that much difference)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup chopped italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Cut the parsnip in a 1/4" dice. This is time consuming and a bit of pain. Chop the onion. Pour the beef or chicken stock into a small sauce pan and heat until boiling. Keep the stock at a low boil until you will begin adding it to the risotto. Add the olive oil to a large pan and heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until starting to brown and carmelize. Add the diced parsnip and cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the white wine and cook for another minute. The wine should begin to boil off and absorb into the parsnips. Add the boiling stock 1 ladle at a time. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the stock is absorbed, then add another ladle and repeat until the stock is gone. Cook until the stock is absorbed and the parsnips are al dente. Parsnips are not as absorbent as arborio rice, so the stock will not completely disappear. while the parsnips are cooking, toast the pine nuts. Either spread them out on a pan in a toaster oven, or fry them in a pan with a little olive oil. I prefer frying them in a pan. Toasted pine nuts with a little olive oil and salt are excruciatingly yummy. Be careful. It only takes a few minutes and the difference between toasted and burnt is only a few seconds. I have burnt as many pine nuts as I have toasted. When the parsnips are fully cooked, add the the tablespoon of butter and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the pine nuts. Allow to cool a bit, then stir in the parmesan cheese and the parsley. If you put the parmesan cheese in while it is too hot it will melt, then clot as it cools. Add salt and pepper to taste. The stock adds a lot of salt, so you probably won’t need to add any unless you are a real salt lover. You can add other things (sundried tomatoes, prociutto, etc.) either at this point or earlier in the last few minutes of cooking the parsnips.
