Put two or three thin slices of salt pork in the bottom of a kettle and let them brown, scrape and slice the parsnips and pare about the same amount of potatoes, leaving them whole if they are small. Place in alternate layers in the kettle, and add sufficient water to cook them, leaving them to brown slightly. They must be closely watched as they burn very easily. Requires about one and a half hours to cook and brown nicely. Remove the vegetables and thicken the gravy with a little flour; add pepper and salt, and a small lump of butter. Serve pork and vegetables on a large, deep platter and pour over the gravy.
FRIED PARSNIPS.
Scrape and wash parsnips, cut off the small end and cut the thick part into half-inch-thick slices. Put them in boiling water with a tablespoonful each of salt and sugar. Boil an hour or until nearly done and drain; beat two eggs, four tablespoonfuls of flour and half a pint of milk together, season with salt and pepper. Dip the slices of parsnip into the batter, then in bread crumbs and fry in boiling lard or drippings until a golden brown. Pile them in a heap on a napkin and serve very hot.
PARSNIP FRITTERS.
Scrape and halve the parsnips, boil tender in salted water, mash smooth, picking out the woody bits; then add a beaten egg to every four parsnips, a tablespoonful of flour, pepper and salt to taste, and enough milk to make into a thin batter; drop by the tablespoonful into hot lard, and fry brown. Drain into a hot colander and dish.
MASHED PARSNIPS.
Boil parsnips tender in salted water, drain and mash them through a colander. Put the pulp into a saucepan with two or three tablespoonfuls of cream and a small lump of butter rubbed in flour, stir them over the fire until the butter is melted and serve.
MOCK OYSTERS.
Use three grated parsnips, three eggs, one teaspoonful of salt, one teacupful of sweet cream, butter half the size of an egg, three tablespoonfuls of flour. Fry as pancakes.