Parsnip Fries

I am back!!! The long delay was due to a few reasons.  Mainly, I had an awesome friend staying with me for her Spring break.  The only food I even made this week was a decent , but not my favorite, brussels sprouts dish.  The rest of the time we ate at lots of different restaurants - garlic noodles at Old Spaghetti Factory, pad thai at Mai Thai, steak sandwich at Matador - you get the picture.  Mai Thai was hands down the best pad thai ever and I cannot wait to go back.

Now that I am alone again, there is plenty of food I want to cook.  I am looking forward to wasabi salmon and marinated tofu.  Today it was time for PARSNIP FRIES (note you could also follow this recipe and make carrot fries, squash fries, sweet potato fries, etc).

I think parsnip fries are even better than potato fries and perfect for the cold rainy day we are experiencing outside.  They are hearty, warm, and full of flavor. Also, they are really filling!

Are you not sure what a parsnip is?  They are a root vegetable related to the carrot.  At the grocery store, they look like white carrots that are larger and a bit less uniform in shape. 1/2 a cup of parsnips has 3 grams of fiber and 55 calories, with 0 grams of fat or cholesterol.  They have 45 mcg of folic acid in 1/2 cup (the recommended daily amount is 400 mcg).  The recommended daily intake of potassium is 470 mg and parsnips have a more half that amount in 1/2 a cup (286 mg). Basically, not only are they tasty, but they are healthy too.

Ingredients
2.5 pounds of parsnips (try to buy ones of uniform shape to make it easier to cut into fry shape)
1 clove of garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 sprigs of rosemary
cumin
salt
pepper

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 450*.  Cut the parsnips into fry shapes.  My method was to cut in half widthwise (so across the middle) into two pieces.  Then, I cut each piece in half lengthwise and depending on the size of the parsnip, cut into two or three pieces lengthwise.

2) Dice three sprigs of rosemary.  Toss the parsnips with rosemary, 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1 clove minced garlic.
3) Spread out parsnips on a cookie sheet.  Lay 5 sprigs of rosemary around the cookie sheet, still in sprig form.  Cook for ten minutes.

4) After ten minutes, stir the parsnips around to help them evenly cook.  Cook another 10-15 minutes (I cooked for the whole 15 minutes and it was perfect).
5) Crumble the sprigs of rosemary over the parsnip fries.  Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, and more to taste.  Add salt and pepper.

6) Devour and enjoy!