SERVES:4 to 6
TOTAL TIME:35 minutes
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS The cooking liquid becomes your sauce when braising, so the trick to making a great braised vegetable side dish is to create a sauce that coats the vegetables well and infuses them with flavor without overwhelming them. Parsnips, with their slightly licoricey sweetness, can stand up to rich sauces but if not correctly balanced, the finished dish can come off as cloying. For our braising liquid, we found that a mixture of vegetable broth and apple cider gave us a base with depth, fruitiness, and a touch of acidity that complemented the parsnips perfectly. Reducing the cooking liquid slightly before adding the parsnips and finishing with Dijon mustard and butter gave the sauce extra bite, plus silky texture and body. Dried cranberries brought a contrasting tartness, and fresh parsley lent color and bright flavor, bringing this dish into perfect balance. Look for parsnips with bases no larger than 1 inch in diameter for this recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup apple cider
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and pepper
- 2 pound parsnips, peeled and cut ¼ inch thick on bias
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large Dutch oven over high heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and just beginning to brown, about 1 minute.
- Add broth, cider, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper; bring to simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add parsnips, stir to combine, and return to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 10 to 14 minutes.
- Remove pot from heat. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves and stir in cranberries.
- Push vegetable mixture to sides of pot. Add mustard and remaining 2 tablespoons butter to center and whisk into cooking liquid.
- Stir to coat vegetable mixture with sauce, transfer to serving dish, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.
