Parsnip Pie

Source:

France, 16th c.

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Recipe by Daniel Myers

This is my second recipe for parsnip pie, and perhaps my favorite (I'm still trying to decide). The salt-preserved lemon adds an amazing bit of zip to an otherwise very simple recipe.

Ingredients

8 - 10 parsnips
1 medium onion
5 Tbsp. butter
1/2 salt cured lemon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup sweet wine (Marsala)

Method

Peel parsnips, cut into large pieces, and remove any woody core. Put into a large pot of boiling water and cook until tender. Drain and set aside.

Cut onion into quarters and slice thinly. Fry in 2 tablespoons of butter until soft.

Rinse salt-preserved lemon discarding any pulp, and cut into thin slices.

Place parsnips in bottom pie crust. Cover evenly with onions and lemon. Sprinkle with nutmeg and pepper, and dot with remaining butter. Cover with top crust, cutting a small (about an inch) hole in the center. Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F, pour wine into hole, and then bake for 20 more minutes.

To make a pie of fresh Parsnips. Take the parsnips well washed, & put them to boil until they are cooked, then take two or three chopped onions & fry in butter, a salted lemon in pieces, nutmeg, & pepper, a little chopped mint, & put all together in the pie, & butter enough.