Williamsburg’s Michelin-starred Francie (136 Broadway) is an elegant dining destination that opened during the pandemic. The upscale brasserie is now expanding its hours to be open on Mondays starting on June 12.
Francie offers a European-leaning menu with Italian and French influences. The restaurant is known for its duck, among other excellent dishes.
For this week’s addition to the Community Cookbook, Francie has shared its recipe for the parsnip purée that accompanies the Dry-Aged Crown of Duck for Two.
See the recipe for Francie’s parsnip purée below and find last week’s Community Cookbook recipe here.
Francie’s Parsnip Purée
Ingredients
2 pounds of parsnips, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
4 cups of whole milk
4 cups of heavy cream
1 bay leaf
½ cup (or 4 ounces) of unsalted butter
1 teaspoon of kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 medium-size Granny Smith apple, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
Directions
- Combine parsnips, milk, cream, and bay leaf in a large pot.
- Bring to a simmer over medium-high.
- Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until parsnips are very tender, for about 15 to 18 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until butter starts to foam and turn brown, for about 6 to 7 minutes.
- Set the saucepan aside and cover to keep warm.
- Drain parsnips, reserving cream mixture.
- Discard bay leaf.
- Transfer parsnips and 1 cup of the cream mixture to a blender.
- Process until very smooth, for about 1 minute, adding additional cream mixture as needed until parsnip mixture reaches desired consistency.
- Add salt and 1/4 cup brown butter and process until combined.
- Transfer to a serving dish.
- Drizzle with additional brown butter and sprinkle with apple.