It is hard to give measurements for this recipe as so much depends on personal taste and the sweetness of the parsnips. I suggest starting with 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup and 1 teaspoon of white miso and working your way up in small increments until you get the sweet/salty ratio to your liking. Other than that, this is a really easy dish and fantastic as a side to pork.
4-6 parsnips (depending on size), washed well
1Tbsp butter
Real maple syrup
White miso
1 tsp olive oil
Salt to taste
Preheat the oven to 375.
Peel the washed parsnips. Reserve the peelings, making sure that they are well dried before using.
Cut the peeled parsnips into small pieces and place in a saucepan. Cover with water, salt well and cook until tender when pierced with a fork, about 7-9 minutes. Again, this depends on the size and woodiness of the parsnip core.
While the parsnips are cooking, toss the parsnip peels in the olive oil and a little salt. Spread out on a foil lined baking tray and bake for 4 minutes, stirring half way through so that the peeling swill dry out evenly as they cook. Remove from oven and set aside.
Roughly drain the cooked parsnips and return to the heat with the butter, stirring constantly until melted.
Depending on if you like your mashed vegetables chunky or smooth, use either a potato masher or an immersion blender.
Add maple syrup and white miso in small quantities until the mashed parsnips taste both earthy and sweet.
Serve topped with crunchy peelings.
I didn't use additional salt in the mash as I felt that the salt from the cooking water, the miso and the peelings was enough. Please adjust seasoning to your taste.