Parsnip Croquettes

Summer CSA has started with Hatchet Cove Farms and boy was I excited to get the first bag, delivered right to my front porch, on Tuesday morning. On top of my veggies, I also did some add-ons that they offered, through association with other food producers. One is a pound of fresh mushrooms from Oyster Creek in Damariscotta, and the other is a fresh loaf of bread from Village Bakery & Cafe in Waldoboro. I am so excited! The first batch of veggies contained early summer Broccoli (so sweet and tender), Pea Shoots (my favorite part of growing peas!), Mesclun Mix, Lacinato Kale (also known as Dino Kale), and Baby Beet Greens. The mushrooms were King Oyster's, which I've never had so should be exciting to try those, and the bread was a big moist loaf of classic sandwich bread. All-in-all, a great start to the summer CSA season.

That said, I still have some root veggies in the fridge to use up. Especially the parsnips. We have had parsnips 80 different ways this winter and I really thought I had run out of ideas. Then I stumbled across a recipe for Parsnip Croquettes - these are usually made with potatoes, and there heyday was back in 1970's (perhaps because they fry up nice and golden, like the color of that nice mustard yellow floor tile in the kitchen....and just about everything else in the 70's) - but I'm thinking about bringing them back in style. With a twist. I gathered up the ingredients I had and whipped up these nice little croquettes. We had them with Beet Green Risotto (recipe to follow) and a small side salad. I even made some yummy honey mustard dip for them. Delicious!

Parsnip Croquettes
5 large parsnips, peeled and cut into sticks (center rib removed)*
3 T chives,
1/2 C milk
1 egg
4 T wheat flour
1/2 C bread crumbs
3 T unsalted butter
salt & pepper
oil for frying

Steam parsnips until extremely soft and mushy. Remove from heat and mash in a large bowl. Add milk, a little bit at a time, and whip by hand. You want the mixture to be like mashed potatoes, not overly runny, but creamy. Add egg, chives, 2 T of flour, butter, and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Mix remaining flour and bread crumbs in a separate dish. Roll parsnip mix into golf ball sized and roll in bread mixture until thoroughly covered. Set aside on a plate and repeat until all croquettes are made up. Place in fridge for at least 1 hour to set. When ready, heat oil in large skillet and fry up croquettes until brown on each side, gently pressing them into thick patties after the first flip. Makes 10 croquettes. Serve with the following dip or anything you'd like.

*Remember to keep those peelings, ribs, and any other unused part of your veggies for a weekly stock.

Honey Mustard
2 T mustard
2 T honey
1/2 T extra virgin olive oil

Whip ingredients together until thoroughly mixed.