Roots: carrots, turnips and parsnips (copyright notice: This photo is courtesy of shared content on Flickr. It is not my own)
Alain Passard may have brought a new fascination with vegetables to France but us Southern Americans have always placed vegetable dishes high on the culinary ladder. No Southern meal is ever complete with at least two vegetable dishes on the table.
So the French are focusing more on vegetables and less on beef and heavy sauces, congratulations to them. They could also learn a thing or two from Americans. Oh, I can hear the French cringing from their universal and all-encompassing, short-man complex…”how dare any other country think we could learn something about food from them!”. Au contraire dear Frenchy, your country’s great chefs have looked everywhere but France for inspiration in the past eight years. Ever since Alain Ducasse declared that French cuisine had lost it’s international prestige, the up-and-coming French chefs have looked outside of France for inspiration. As well they should
Ironic that the name of this blog is Snob on a Budget, as nothing irks me more than nationalistic food snobbery.
My step-brother looks like bona fide redneck, most likely he would tell you, “that’s because I am a bona fide redneck”. He’s not actually, but he doesn’t take himself too seriously, he’s laid-back and kind. He’s also quite the foody. In his little country house located in the woods of South Carolina you won’t find trucker magazines, rather a collection of culinary literature ranging from American classics like Julia Child’s, The Art of Cooking (absolutely French influenced), to books from modern whizz kids like Jamie Oliver, various culinary magazines and even the Michelin Guide.
His authenticity and passion for food warms my heart. Never judge a book by it’s cover and yes, that also apply to cookbooks and southerners in t-shirts.
I began this article with the intention of sharing a root-based recipe that my step-brother prepared for our Christmas dinner back home last year: Sauteed Parsnips and Carrots with Pancetta, Rosmary and Honey. But in the process, the title has taken on a double meaning for me.
I do love France and yes, I still believe that most of the time, you can eat better in France than anywhere else in the world. But France is not the “Be All, End All” that many people, French or not, like to claim it is.
Food is like spirituality. Your perception and experience of it, is beyond personal. It is no wonder that last year, amidst the emotional turmoil and insecurity I experienced after making drastic life changes, nothing I cooked turned out right. For a food lover, the soul participates. If the soul suffers, so does this evening’s lasagna or fish (of which I over-cooked).
Food is home. On some days it might be a dish prepared by a chef who operates with a super-human precision. In other moments it could be the comfort dish from home that, no matter where you eat it, always takes you back to your roots.
I believe it is this understanding of the transcendent quality of food that has driven certain chefs to give back Michelin stars or never aim for them in the first place.
I saw this in my step-brother last Christmas. As he stood over the stove in his t-shirt only a proud redneck would wear and drizzled clove honey over slowly sauteeing parsnips I realized that the place I come from is as multi-dimensional as I have evolved to be.
Life in Europe is an experience no doubt. I enjoy the simplicity and the occasional moment of glamour I am exposed to, but my roots offer those things too.
Standing with my step-brother it struck me, it’s not where you are that matters, it’s who you are. Like they say, “Wherever you go, there you are.”
Inspiration is to be found around any corner.
Thank you for the recipe Dale. It was wonderful.
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- sliced pancetta
- 1 pound carrots (about 4 large), peeled, cut into sticks
- 1 pound large parsnips, peeled, halved lengthwise, cored, cut into sticks
- Coarse sea salt
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey (such as heather, clover, or wildflower)
Slightly steam the carrots and parsnips for 10 minutes or blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove and pat dry. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots and parsnips. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Sauté until vegetables are beginning to brown at edges, about 8 minutes.
Add butter, rosemary, and honey and pancetta to vegetables. Toss over medium heat until heated through and vegetables are glazed, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if desired.
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