Do you ever prepare a tired ingredient in a new way? The other day we cooked Ohio bison burgers and wanted a 'fry' without potatoes. Riffing off the roasted root vegetables on Lil's plate at Senate, Alex cut up some parsnips into very thin wedges. He arranged them in a single layer on a cookie sheet at roasted them with a thin cover of olive oil, salt and pepper.

My what a wonderous accompaniment! Parsnips roasted in this way are only slightly sweet and full of earthy anise flavor. The fries are crispy on the outside with a bit of bite still in the center. They compliment a rich burger like potato fries cannot.

This recreation of a common root vegetable makes me think a little harder about parsnips. I haven't explored them fully. Perhaps 2012 will be the year of the parsnip.

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