Parsnip Potato Bake

with Creamy Mushroom Sauce and Chicken

I have a fantastic new kitchen tool that I just love and I want to share it with you. My husband recently bought me a vegetable sheet cutter attachment for my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer and it's so much fun!

You can still make this dish if you don't have a sheet cutter by thinly slicing the parsnips and potatoes as you would for making a gratin or scalloped potatoes and it will be really tasty, but the sheet slicer makes the dish feel more like a lasagna with large sheets of parsnips and potatoes standing in for the noodles.

The creamy mushroom sauce is spot on. I would eat this sauce on just about anything! It's that good. I have used store bought cremini in this recipe but Chanterelles, Fried Chicken mushrooms (Lyophyllum decastes), Honey Mushrooms (Armillaria), a variety of milk caps ( Lactarius), Oyster mushrooms or Shrimp Russula (Russula xerampelina) mushrooms would be very tasty in this dish.

Important Note * If using wild mushrooms for this recipe, be sure you have properly identified the mushrooms and thoroughly cleaned and cooked them before adding them to this casserole. I like to use wild mushrooms that I have already prepared, sautéed and frozen, thaw just enough to loosen them and mix them in. If you have fresh wild mushrooms be sure to saute' them thoroughly before adding them to the sauce.

The mozzarella cheese is only on the top so this casserole is lighter than it looks. It also keeps and reheats very well which makes it a great make ahead dish or lunch the next day!

This is my new attachment going to work on a parsnip. It's important to use vegetables that are as thick as you can get that will still fit into the cutter.

It's also important to understand that there will be a vegetable core left after sheet cutting and you may want to save it to use soon in another recipe to avoid wasting perfectly good food.

One great way to use the cores from this dish is to chop up the parsnip and potato cores for hash browns. We dice them and put them immediately into the freezer in a baggy for the coming weekend. Superman always makes me breakfast on Sunday complete with diced hash browns and biscuits. We call it Biscuit Day and the dogs and I love biscuit day!

This is one of the first things I made with my new vegetable sheet cutter and I will definitely be making it again and again. I love the texture of the potatoes and parsnips cut with the sheet cutter. It's a comforting and filling casserole without being too rich and the mushroom sauce is amazing!

Cheers!

~Melisa

Parsnip Potato Bake with Creamy Mushroom Sauce and Chicken

Ingredients

For the Mushroom Sauce

1/4 cup butter

1/4 flour

1 1/2 cups skim milk

1/2 cup whipping cream

6 large fresh cremini mushrooms sliced or use precooked wild mushrooms as described in the method below

2 tablespoons minced sweet onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

salt & pepper

For the Chicken Filling

3 Tablespoons cooking oil

3 cloves minced garlic

1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs chopped

1/2 to 1 cup mushroom sauce

To complete the Casserole

2 large russet potatoes cut into sheets

2 large parsnips cut into sheets

1 cup Shredded Mozzarella cheese

Method

Make the Mushroom sauce

Heat a small sauce pot on medium heat. Add the butter and flour and cook together until bubbly to make a light roux. Add the sliced mushrooms, minced garlic and minced onion mixing them together with the roux.

I have used store bought cremini in this recipe but Chanterelles, Fried Chicken mushrooms (Lyophyllum decastes), Honey Mushrooms (Armillaria), a variety of milk caps ( Lactarius), Oyster mushrooms or Shrimp Russula (Russula xerampelina) mushrooms would be very tasty in this dish.

Important Note * If using wild mushrooms for this recipe, be sure you have properly identified the mushrooms and thoroughly cleaned and cooked them before adding them to this casserole. I like to use wild mushrooms that I have already prepared, sautéed and frozen, thaw just enough to loosen them and mix them in.

Add the skim milk, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Remove the pot from the heat and slowly stir in the whipping cream then season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Make the Chicken filling

Heat a skillet on medium high heat. Add cooking oil, garlic, onion and chicken. Stir-fry until the vegetables are translucent and the chicken no longer pink. Add mushroom sauce to coat, then set aside.

Assemble the Casserole

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly spay oil a casserole then spread a thin layer of mushroom sauce on the bottom. Thinly layer potatoes, chicken filling, mushroom sauce and parsnips in that order 2 times then top with the mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees 45 - 60 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Top with fresh chopped parsley and serve.