I never ate a parsnip when I lived on the other side of the pond.
I never knew anyone who had eaten a parsnip.
I had never even seen a parsnip, although I did know they existed.
It turns out that the Brits love parsnips. I learned that because after we moved to France my British friends were constantly complaining about the lack of parsnips at the markets.
I had no ability to commiserate or even show empathy. I wouldn’t have recognized a parsnip if I had tripped over it.
Apparently the French weren’t overly fond of them either.
In recent years the French have been exploring other vegetables and expanding their vegetable repertoire. A few years ago it was decided that humans, and not just pigs, could eat such things as sweet corn and butternut squash. The other day I even saw a spaghetti squash in the market, although no one really knew what it was.
Parsnips are now available, although not regularly.
Still, I may not have tried them, having a cave full of butternut squash, but a French friend gave me a few from her garden.
They were delicious…. I am now a parsnip convert.
Click here to Pin Pork and Parsnips, Slow Cooker
PrintPork and Parsnips, Slow Cooker
If you can’t get or don’t like parsnips, use all carrots for this easy stew. Serve with simple boiled potatoes.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Pork
- Method: Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 12oz (360gr) boneless pork chops, cut in half
- 2 shallots, peeled, cut in 4ths
- 1 medium carrot, cut into sticks
- 3 medium parsnips, cut into sticks
- 1 tbs whole grain mustard
- 3/4 cup (6oz, 180 ml) apple juice
- 1/4 cup (2oz, 60ml) beef broth
- 1 tbs parsley
- 2 tbs crumbled sage leaves
- 2 tbs tapioca
- 2 tbs horseradish
Instructions
- Put all vegetables in the slow cooker.
- Add the tapioca, beef broth and stir to combine.
- Top with pork pieces in a single layer if possible.
- Mix apple juice, mustard, herbs, and pour over pork.
- Cover and cook, low heat, for 6 hours.
- Give it a quick stir after 3 hours if you are available
- Uncover, add horseradish and stir to combine.
- Serve.
Notes
I use a small slow cooker for this. If you have a large one you can add 2 potatoes, cut into chunks and make the entire dinner in the cooker.
It’s been a record email day chez moi
It’s Black Friday!
Black Friday started about 2 weeks ago over here.
I’ve been determined not to succumb to temptation. There is nothing I need and the one thing I’m toying with getting (an Instapot) is not on sale.
However I have been absolutely inundated with emails from the world touting the wonderful deals that await me if only I click and look.
It still takes an effort to delete them all…. even if I’m not looking.
I’ve also been bombarded with emails wanting to do a guest post.
They’re all very similar – telling me how wonderful I am which is followed by how wonderful the writer is and how much we can benefit each other if only I’ll publish their well-written, well-researched material.
About 1 in 10 actually demonstrates that in the email.
Most often that is not the case. Sometimes the email is all caps, sometimes the first letter of every word is capitalized, sometimes no letters at all are capitalized. Often there is no punctuation and sometimes it’s just gibberish, with nouns and verbs just added to sentences haphazardly.
I try to be nice, but it’s getting more difficult.
If I don’t answer I get an email every hour that says ‘Waiting for response’
If I say, politely, that I’m not interested they argue with me… in a poorly written email that reinforces my original opinion.
That was my day… but enough complaining. I’m going to go have some fun in the kitchen, wine included.
Didn’t I comment on your last post how much I love parsnips? I love parsnips! And rutabaga and turnip. I had an English grandmother who lived on the border of Wales and a Scots grandmother. Between the two of them, those three veggies were on the menu almost every night.
I had an InstaPot. I used it twice. I gave it to Thing One. She only uses it as a slow cooker. I found there were way too many steps using the ‘convenient’ InstaPot. Stopping, starting, stirring, releasing steam, restarting the machine…I have an old rocking pressure cooker and a newer Fagor pressure cooker and I absolutely prefer them to the InstaPot. Frankly, I labeled the InstaPot a PITA. Glad to be rid of it. If your heart is set on it, I wish you luck. The only thing I can figure is, no one who has one has ever used a plain old pressure cooker.
I love rutabagas. They were a holiday treat when I was growing up…. strange as that may sound. Apparently, that’s when my mother could get them. They are becoming more popular here now, I started eating regular, white turnips here because they are always available… Love them, too.
My interest in the InstaPot is purely to inject something different into the blog. It seems to be so popular perhaps I should look into it. As for me – I have my slow cooker and my (fairly new) pressure cooker and, usually, am most content with a skillet or Dutch oven lol
When I was a child, I did not like parsnips although my parents did. Fortunately when I was 8 we moved further north in Africa where it was too hot to grow good parsnips! Many years later after I was married we moved south and I discovered parsnips are one of my husbands favourite vegetables. He likes them roasted and fortunately, so do I. I will definitely be trying this recipe but in my cast iron casserole as I don’t have a slow cooker.
Interesting how are tastes change over time. I hated tomatoes as a child…. Hard to comprehend that now lol
I love my slow cooker in the winter – but I would never part with my heavy casserole.
Ditto re parsnips. I’d never seen nor eaten one until we moved to England. I still don’t really ‘get’ them, and I certainly don’t ‘get’ curried parsnip soup, which is what most of my colleagues were mad for in the UK.
I’m learning – especially since my French friend keeps giving them to me…. Yes, the Brits rave about them. I have yet to discover the secret.