My Roots are Roasting

Buckle up friends, we have a three for one tonight!

So now that everyone in my house is pretty much over this last round of colds, I have some time to connect with all of you fine people again! Tonight’s adventure took place over a span of three days. The growing season here is just about over and I have received my last box of veggies from my CSA. From the last two boxes, I formed a small collection of root vegetables; beets, turnips and celeriac. I know, what the heck is celeriac? It is also known as celery root and does have a celery flavor but not as distinctive as actually celery stalks.

As I was reading about each of these bulbous roots, I noticed that they are all commonly roasted and they are all commonly seasoned with thyme. Seemed to me like they were made to be served together somehow. I decided my best bet was to roast them all individually, according to the best recipes I could find for each, and then bring them back together in my final dishes.

My first idea was inspired by pizza night at the farm where we get our CSA from. On Friday evenings, during growing season, the farm hosts pizza night where they serve homemade pizza with farm-fresh ingredients baked in their outdoor brick ovens. It is and awesome community event and my family just loved it! One of the pizzas on the menu at the end of the season was Roasted Root Vegetable. We tried the October Special over the Roasted Root Vegetable at the farm so I don’t know exactly which root vegetables are on it but the idea sounded like a perfect use for my trio.

Like I mentioned, I had a small collection of veggies so I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to use them all on pizza. When I’m working with ingredients that I don’t use often, I like to try to fit them into something I already know that I like. For example, I know I like skillet breakfasts with fried potatoes and ham, served with a fried egg on top (I have no idea what is with this fried egg on top kick that I have going here). I know that potatoes and beets taste nothing alike but I have substituted rutabaga for potatoes in this kind of breakfast so I thought maybe I could sneak my roasted root veggie combo in there too! The morning that I made Root Veggie Breakfast Skillet, I threw in a couple baby red potatoes to make sure I had enough food in case I was totally wrong about this idea.

The third roasted root vegetable experiment was risotto. Now, risotto is up there with the Italian Wedding Soup; I have never had it anywhere but my own kitchen. I have no idea if what I’m dishing up is what risotto is “supposed” to be like. Doesn’t matter. We love it! My favorite way to make risotto is with a combination of mushrooms but I have read and heard that there are about a million ways to spin risotto and I got the most confidence from butternut squash risotto. Again, butternut squash does not taste like a beet but both veggies are on the sweet side and I could see no reason why creamy rice wouldn’t make a delicious home for my rooty mix.

After eating all three meals, my husband and I ranked them as such:

1^st place: Pizza. This one turned out great! I had drizzled it with a balsamic glaze when it came out of the oven and the vinegar just took the veggies to a new level! Paired with homemade crust, this one is worth making again!

2^nd place: Risotto. This was also very tasty. I added the roasted veggies in when the risotto was almost done to give the whole dish time to melt together. Finished with a pad of butter and some salty Parmesan, it made a delicious side to baked chicken.

3^rd place: Breakfast Skillet. I’m still thinking this could be really tasty. For some reason, the turnips in this application tasted a bit bitter. Now, they did not taste bitter in either of the other two recipes but they had more time to cook in both of those. So maybe the turnips needed more roasting time to start with or more time in the pan while I cooked the potatoes. The beets and celeriac both paired well with the ham and fried egg!

I’m a big fan of preparing one thing and turning it into a bunch of other things. I’m good with leftovers too but if you can turn it into something new, it is so much more exciting! I had a lot of fun checking out new ways to use these root vegetables and no leftovers suggests that the results were not half bad!

Roasting the Vegetables:

(I did all of the roasting the day before and stored them in containers in the fridge. I also lined my pan with tin foil to help with clean up)

Peal the beets and celeriac, scrub the turnips. Cut all veggies into 1/2 inch cubes.

For the Beets: Toss with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Season with 1/2 tsp dried thyme, salt and pepper. Roast at 400°F for 45 minutes or until tender.

For the Celeriac: Toss with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Season with 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp paprika, salt and pepper. Place celeriac on a piece of heavy duty foil and close foil

to form a packet. Place packet on a cookie sheet and roast at 425°F
for 25 minutes. Open and spread the foil out on the cookie sheet and roast 15-20 minutes more, until tender.

For the Turnips: Toss with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Season with 1/2 tsp dried thyme, salt and pepper. Roast at 425°F for 30 to 40 minutes, until tender.

Roasted Root Veggie Pizza

1 pizza crust (preferably homemade!)

1/3 of the roasted root veggie mix

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Balsamic Glaze (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Stretch raw pizza dough to fit pan. Poke a few holes with a fork to prevent large air bubbles. Bake until crust just starts to brown; about 5-7 minutes.

Remove crust from oven and carefully flip it over. Return to pan upside down and top with veggie mix and then cheese. Return to oven for another 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and just starting to brown.

Drizzle with Balsamic Glaze, cut and serve.

Balsamic Glaze

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Combine vinegar and sugar in small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and allow to reduce by half. Cool slightly before using.

Root Veggie Breakfast Skillet

2 -3 baby red potatoes, cubed

1/3 of the roasted root veggie mix

2 ham steaks, cubed

1 Tbsp oil

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper

1 -2 eggs per person

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes, season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cover for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When potatoes are just tender, add root veggie mix and ham. Cook uncovered to heat veggies and ham through.

While veggies and ham heat through, fry 1-2 eggs per person. Plate the veggie mix and top with over easy eggs. Serve immediately.

Root Veggie Risotto

4 cups chicken broth

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 cup Arborio Rice

1/4 cup white wine

1/3 of the roasted root veggie mix

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Sliced green onions for garnish

In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add rice and toast for 1-2 minutes.

Add wine. Stir and cook until wine has been absorbed.

Add 1/2 cup broth. Stir and cook until broth has been absorbed. Continue to add broth 1/2 cup at a time and allow to absorb until you have 1/2 cup of broth left. Add root veggie mix then the last 1/2 cup of broth. Allow the broth to be absorbed.

Remove from heat. Add butter and grated Parmesan. Garnish with green onion. Serve immediately.