From the menu of -- Livingston

A: Livingston’s chef Zeb Stevenson is always willing to share his recipes. He notes there are two things in particular to watch out for in even a recipe as seemingly simple as this one. “If the pan is too hot when you combine the spinach and the parsnip cream, the cream will burn and become bitter. The second thing to know is if you underseason with salt, the dish will be incredibly bland. It takes a healthy amount,” he told us.

Parsnips are an underappreciated vegetable. At their sweetest in the fall and winter, they look like white carrots, but have a distinctive earthy flavor. They play well with other vegetables, as demonstrated here. Buy a pound or two and experiment with them in combination with mashed potatoes or in a mixture of roasted root vegetables.

Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you'd like to make at home? Tell us and we'll try to get it. We'll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can't answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put "From the menu of” and the name of restaurant in the subject line.

Livingston’s Spinach with Parsnip Cream

Hands on: 10 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Serves: 3

The directions here assume you want to make everything ahead of time and combine when ready to serve, as they would in the restaurant. You can also make this just before serving, skipping the step where you cool the spinach in ice water. Just drain the spinach in a colander and proceed with the recipe.

2 pounds fresh spinach, washed and stems removed

1 medium parsnip, peeled and roughly chopped

1 cup heavy cream

Salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. While water is heating, prepare a large bowl of ice water. When water is boiling, drop in spinach. You will need to do this in batches. Stir spinach into boiling water and cook 30 seconds, or until all the spinach has turned bright green. Using a slotted spoon, remove spinach from water and plunge immediately into prepared bowl of ice water. Repeat until all spinach is cooked. Stir spinach in ice water until completely cool, about 2 minutes, and drain. Squeeze spinach to remove all water. Keep spinach at room temperature.

In a medium saucepan, combine parsnip and cream and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until parsnip is fork tender, about 10 minutes. In the jar of a blender, or using an immersion blender, puree the parsnip and cream until very smooth. Season to taste.

In a medium skillet, warm olive oil over medium-high heat. Add spinach and toss, then stir in parsnip cream. Keep heat very low to avoid burning and stir constantly until all ingredients are hot. Serve immediately.

Per serving: 437 calories (percent of calories from fat, 68), 11 grams protein, 26 grams carbohydrates, 12 grams fiber, 35 grams fat (19 grams saturated), 109 milligrams cholesterol, 277 milligrams sodium.