This was one of those dishes that I would just make over and over again. Danika and I were just talking over the weekend about how quickly Fall has come around. It seemed like trees turned color just overnight. Whenever fall arrives I get a hankering for root veg, and also apples. Parsnips are one of my favorite roots. Sweet, soft, slightly chewy. They taste like a sweet potato, only better…. way better. I reckon they are an aquired taste though.. I hated them when I was a kid. Not now though. Oh no. So what to cook with some parsnips.. Hmmm. Apples. Got to be apples. Something else slightly sweet I think. So how was this dish done?

Preheat oven to 425F. Put a small roasting pan in to preheat also.

 To start, peel threeparsnips, cut them into quarters lenghwise. Get some water boiling, and throw them in. You want to cook these for about 10 minutes, or until they just go soft. After this it is really important to stop them from cooking any further. The best way to do this is an ice bath. In a large bowl, put at least 10 cubes of ice, and fill it half full with cold water. Take the parsnips out of the boiling water, and put into a sieve. Place this into the ice bath, making sure the parsnips are covered. This will stop them from cooking further. Really thinly slice some fresh sage leaves. Slice your apples about 1/8″thick, discarding the core. About 3 medium sized apples should do it here.

Take the roasting pan out of the oven, and put about a tablespoon of butter in it. When the butter has melted carefully add the parsnips and sage, and gently toss. Bung back in the oven. These are going to take about 20 minutes to roast. Half way through, toss the parsnips, to make sure they are browning evenly.

About 10 minutes before the parsnips are done, prep the fish. Cut into two fillets if you need to. Heat a nonstick pan over a medium-high heat, add some oil. Salt and pepper the flesh side of the salmon. Place the salmon, flesh side down, in the pan, cook until browned nicely – about 5 minutes. Turn the fish over, and cook for a further 5 minutes on the skin side, or until the fish is cooked to your desired level (if you ask me, salmon should still be pink in the middle).

 Whilst the fish and parsnips are cooking, heat a large pan over a medium heat. When hot, add a couple of tablespoons of butter. Once the butter is heated, throw in the apples. You want to try and get these into one layer if you can. Let these brown very slowly, then flip. Add more butter if you need to.

When the apples are done, remove them to a plate. Keep the pan that you cooked the apples in over a high heat. Put in about 1/2 a cup of apple cider. Let this fizz, and reduce down. Scrape around the pan to deglaze. When this liquid has reduced by half, add about 1/4 cup of Calvados (apple brandy). You want this to reduce down further, and the alcohol to burn off (the alcohol smell will go when it is all burnt off).

 Divide the apples between your plates. Top these with the parsnips. Finally add the salmon. Pour the apple brandy sauce over, and get stuck in! Serves 2.

Pictures honestly don’t do this one justice (if I do say so myself..) It is a great cold weather dish – very warm, rich in flavor, and extremely satisfying. The apples taste fantastic, and the brandy sauce helps cut some of the richness.