I seem to get into ruts when making vegetables, so am always on the lookout for recipes for some of the less common vegetables. When I saw a recipe for Parsnips with Drawn Butter Sauce in a hundred-year-old cookbook, I decided to give it a try.
The recipe turned out well. The sweet, nutty, earthly parsnips were cut into strips about 2-inches long and cooked, and then embedded in a rich, buttery sauce.
I was surprised that the old recipe for the Drawn Butter Sauce called for water and flour. Today, Drawn Butter is generally just a clarified butter – but apparently it was a thickened butter and water sauce a hundred years ago.
When I made this recipe, I made half a recipe for the drawn butter sauce. I used hot water rather than fish stock. I peeled the parsnips rather than scraping them. (Does anyone scrape parsnips – or carrots for that matter – anymore?)
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Parsnips with Drawn Butter Sauce
1 pound parsnips (about 4 medium parsnips)
water
1 teaspoon salt + 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
dash pepper
3/4 cup hot water
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Peel parsnips and cut into pieces two inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Put in a saucepan, cover with water; add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil using high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until tender.
Melt half of the butter in a saucepan using medium heat; stir in the flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Gradually add the hot water while stirring constantly. Bring to a boil while continuing to stir, reduce heat and continue to stir while the mixture slowly boils for 5 minutes. Stir in remaining butter and the lemon juice. Immediately remove from heat and pour the sauce over the cooked parsnips. Gently stir to combine.
A Hundred Years Ago 
I had to look up ‘drawn butter’. I’d never heard this term before. I agree your modification sounds nicer. Fish stock in this context doesn’t appeal at all, even if the dish were served with fish.
I just couldn’t picture this vegetable side dish with a sauce made with fish stock – though perhaps it would have made the parsnips more flavorful.
Hmm. Maybe. Not convinced!
I like that the parsnips were cut into strips rather than coins, just to make it a little different.
I usually just scrub my parsnips and carrots, I don’t peel them unless it is a fussy dish.
The strips were nice. It made the dish seem a little fancier. I’ve always scraped or peeled parsnips and carrots, but it sounds like I won’t need to if I carefully scrubbed them.
Once in a while, when the parsnip is spring dug and really funky, I’ll peel them, but usually they don’t need it.
Very interesting recipe. I liked how the old recipe called for scraping the parsnips, a term we don’t hear anymore, replaced by “peeling.” This old recipe was a bit confusing to follow and I liked how you wrote it more clearly, Sheryl. I had never heard of “drawn butter” and appreciated your translation comments re ghee. Your photograph is great and the parsnips look creamy and yummy.
The parsnips were yummy. I used to scrape root vegetables using a paring knife held at an angle – but I haven’t done that in years because it’s so much easier to just peel the vegetables, though I still scrape new potatoes in the summer because I like the way they look and taste when I scrape them.
I scrub my carrots with a vegetable brush–have not scraped them for 50 years! The sauce sounds interesting. I like parsnips roasted with butternut squash.
I also like parsnips and butternut squash mixtures. I have a recipe that calls for topping with a maple syrup sauce that is divine.
I prefer roasted parsnips since the roasting brings out their sweetness…
Roasting is a nice way to cook vegetables.
I can believe this is good,butter made into a sauce…yum!
It’s tasty.
I think I met a parsnips face to face only once, and it was in its uncooked state. I enjoyed reading about yours.
Yuck – they are much tastier in the cooked state.
I didn’t try to taste the raw parsnip, and I wasn’t interested in cooking it. You are braver than I.
Do you like turnips? Parsnips are milder and sweeter than turnips, but I think that they have somewhat similar tastes.
I didn’t grow up eating turnips, so I haven’t given them a fair chance.