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WOW! The air is crisp, the harvest is in, and I have one thing
on my mind: roasted vegetables! Now, you know from my April 2003
column (http://www.god-dess.com/services
_recipesApril03.html) in which I featured roasted asparagus
and/or green onions, that I’m eager to enjoy those intensified
flavors any time of year. Visit that link if you find some late
harvest asparagus or green onions, but meanwhile, take advantage
of the autumn harvest with the following easy techniques for roasting
and using a variety of root vegetables, and tomatoes, and beets
(though also a root vegetable, they require special treatment).
EASY ROASTED VEGETABLES
These crispy vegetables are terrific by themselves, as a side dish,
tossed with pasta (be sure to use the cooked pasta to wipe up the
flavored olive oil in the cooking tray!), or added to a fresh green
salad or a bowl of cooked rice, or as a “hash” with
breakfast eggs, or rolled into a tortilla with or without scrambled
eggs (plus some grated cheese). The choices are endless! Combine
them with some of the other roasted vegetables in this section.
- 4-6 c root vegetables, cut in ½” to ¾”
dice (potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, parsley root,
turnips, celeriac, jicama)
- ¼ c olive oil
- 1 t salt
- 5 to 10 grinds pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large
bowl. Toss or stir to coat vegetables with oil and seasonings. Transfer
vegetables to a large cooking sheet so that they form a single layer.
Cook in center of oven for 45 minutes to one hour, stirring and
turning every 15 to 20 minutes.
Variations:
Prior to roasting, make any or all of the following changes:
1. Add 1 t to 1 T of chopped dried
whole herbs (rosemary and/or thyme are especially good)
2. Add peeled and quartered onions
to the vegetable mixture (leave the root end intact, trimming only
the loose end pieces, so that the quarters remain intact …
for a while, anyway!). Onions do tend to caramelize more quickly,
so you might want to add them halfway into the roasting process.
3. Add loose cloves of garlic to
the mixture (still in the skin); the cloves will actually become
crispy and sweet. Alternatively, put a head or two or three of garlic
in aluminum foil (cutting off the tops of the heads is optional,
as is drizzling with olive oil and sprinkling with salt), seal the
foil, and roast alongside the tray of other vegetables; when roasted,
squeeze the garlic into the veggie tray and mix to allow the essence
of garlic to merge with the other veggies (the soft roasted garlic
will also make the veggie mixture into a creamy pasta sauce when
a little water is added).
4. Add 1 to 2 T of lemon juice (half
or whole lemon), or other citrus juice, or red wine vinegar or balsamic
vinegar.
5. Substitute melted duck fat, goose
fat or bacon drippings for the olive oil. The duck and goose fat
will add a real Provencal effect.
Applications:
Side Dish: just serve roasted veggies
in a bowl or on a platter, perhaps with some roasted red pepper
strips, or chopped olives, or caramelized onions on top of them,
with a splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar, or citrus juice,
if you didn’t use them to roast the vegetables.
Pasta sauce: These vegetables are
roasted in bite-sized pieces, making it simple to toss them with
pasta (1/2 c veggies per ¼ lb pasta, using the pasta to soak
up the oil in the roasting tray before mixing with the veggies),
along with some optional roasted red peppers (1/4 c) and some toasted
walnuts or pine nuts (2 T), and some grated cheese (to taste). By
the way, the proportions are completely discretionary.
Salad: I make lots of salads, as
you know from reading previous columns of Simple! Sensible! Sensational!®
recipes. I love to adorn a simple salad with roasted potatoes and
other veggies (a mesclun salad with potatoes roasted in duck fat
is amazing!).
Quiche: these roasted vegetables
are terrific in a quiche. Blind bake a standard 9” pie shell,
place ¼ c grated cheese in the bottom after cooking, add
1 c of the chopped vegetables, add 3 to 4 eggs beaten with ¼
to ½ c milk or cream (with ½ t salt and about 15 grinds
of pepper), and top with another ½ c grated cheese. Bake
at 350° F for about 1 hour; test with a knife: if it comes out
cleanly, the quiche is done. Serve with a green salad for lunch
or dinner, or simply solo for breakfast. I will discuss quiches
and frittatas in greater detail in a future column.
ROASTED TOMATOES
We hear a lot about sun-dried tomatoes, but not too much about Roasted
Tomatoes. Then, when you see a recipe for Roasted Tomatoes, it is
usually for a low temperature (often 300 degrees), for a long time
(up to 2 hours), and when you try it, the flavors are indeed more
concentrated, but they don’t really exhibit any special characteristics
from the roasting, plus you’ve used a lot of energy unnecessarily.
With this recipe, you KNOW you’re eating Roasted Tomatoes,
and you’ll be happy about it!
I have not given proportions because the technique is open to too
many variables depending on how “heavy-handed” the cook
is with the olive oil, salt and pepper (but that’s okay; just
don’t waste the juices in the pan!). The only downside to
this recipe is that at this temperature, some of the juices will
caramelize or even burn on the bottle of the baking sheet, skillet
or casserole dish, but with a bit of soaking and some scrubbing
with nylon mesh (please see http://www.god-dess.com/webhintsMar03.html
for details) and baking powder, the pots will clean up very well.
By the way, these roasted tomatoes freeze really well (just pile
them into a freezer container, without any other treatment); I served
some that I had frozen in several months earlier to some guests
in a salad, and they had no idea that the tomatoes had been frozen!
- Tomatoes, halved (split Roma, grape and pear tomatoes longitudinally;
split cherry tomatoes and “regular” tomatoes equatorially/horizontally;
consider trying some smaller heirloom varieties for a very colorful
final product).
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Bleu (or your favorite ) cheese (optional)
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Arrange the tomato halves as close
to each other on a baking sheet, oven-proof skillet or casserole.
With your thumb over the top of the olive oil bottle, drizzle a thin
stream over each of the halves (because the oil conducts heat and
help the tomatoes to cook, I like to use my fingers to even the oil
over the cut halves). Sprinkle a little bit of salt over all of the
tomato halves. Grind fresh pepper over the halves. Top each half with
a small bit of cheese (if using). Place the baking sheet into the
preheated oven, and roast for 35 minutes (for cherries, grapes and
small pear tomatoes) to 45 minutes (for small Romas and “regular”
tomatoes) to an hour and 15 minutes (for large Romas and large “regular”
tomatoes”), using a spatula to shift their positions every 15
minutes or so. The skins will become crispy which is part of their
deliciousness (a nice textural change). These tomatoes, especially
when roasted with bleu cheese, make a great side dish, hot, warm or
cold (when the cheese is used, just add a half or two or three to
a basic green salad, and you have a mini masterpiece).
Applications:
Roasted Vegetable Ragout: Please see
September’s column at http://www.god-dess.com/services_recipes
September03.html for proportions, now that you have the technique
for roasting all of the components (except for the bell peppers, so
you’ll just have to contact me if you need those instructions).
Simple Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce: Simpler
than the ragout! Per serving, mix ½ c chopped roasted tomatoes,
1 c young arugula or spinach (torn into bite size pieces), up to 1
T toasted pine nuts (or your favorite nut), 1 T olive oil, 1 t balsamic
or wine vinegar or lemon juice or wine (optional) in an individual
pasta bowl (or serving bowl, if making more than one serving). Add
¼ lb cooked pasta per serving and about 2 T pasta cooking water
per serving. Stir to distribute the sauce evenly, and add some grated
hard cheese if desired. One t minced or chiffonaded fresh mint or
basil can also be added if desired.
Roasted Tomato Salad: Per serving,
use ¼ c chopped roasted tomatoes, 1 T olive oil, 1 t vinegar,
salt and pepper to taste, and about 1.5 to 2 c torn lettuce or spinach
or young arugula. Toss and serve.
ROASTED BEETS
These beets are sweet and earthy at the same time. Because beets stain
everything they touch, handle them carefully. At this time, beets
are available in a variety of colors (red, pink, white, golden, striped
[chioggia]), so for a surprising effect, roast several of these varieties
and serve them together.
- 3 or 4 small/medium whole beets (with one inch of the leaf stalks
intact; reserve the beet greens for another recipe, such as shopping
and sautéing them with olive oil, garlic and perhaps some
red pepper flakes and toasted pine nuts, served over pasta or rice,
or on bruschetta, or inside a quiche)
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 t salt (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place whole beets on a sheet of aluminum
foil (standard width, about 18” long). Drizzle olive oil over
beets, and sprinkle with salt (is using). Fold foil over beets to
totally enclose them and crimp edges to form a seal. Place directly
on the oven rack, or in an oven-proof dish, and bake for 1 to 1.5
hours (depending on the size of the beets; a knife inserted in the
beets should slide in without resistance). Remove from oven when beets
are tender, allow to cool slightly, and peel and discard skin. These
beets can now be used in a variety of applications.
Applications:
Beet Salad: allow the beets to cool
completely. Slice the beets horizontally, and arrange on a platter.
Dress with a simple vinaigrette (3 parts olive oil [or brown butter],
1 part sour or vinegar, especially balsamic, which is delicious with
beets, but also red wine vinegar or lemon juice; use 1 T oil to 1
t vinegar for each serving). A small sprinkle of salt and pepper will
bring out the flavors of the beets. Optionally, top with toasted nuts
(walnuts are the best, but pine nuts, pecans and pumpkin seeds are
also good choices) and/or artisanal cheese (I prefer any bleu, such
as Danish bleu or gorgonzola, but chevre is also terrific, as are
the double/triple cream cheeses like brie or camembert or Cambozola).
Beet Salad with Greens: Follow the
instructions for above Beet Salad, but separately dress any tender
greens that you enjoy (mixed baby lettuces, romaine, leaf lettuce,
spinach, even mustard greens). When serving the beets with greens,
another choice is to cube the beets and sprinkle them over the dressed
greens.
Roasted Beets as a side dish: use
the same dressing as for the salad, but apply it to cubed beets while
they are still warm. Alternatively, replace the olive oil with butter.
Roasted beets, although they are cooked separately, can be served
with other roasted vegetables (they are especially good with roasted
garlic) as a topping on pasta, rice, in a tortilla or as a breakfast
hash.
Now you have some of my favorite autumnal recipes. They are great
for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Wonderful for appetizer, soup and
entrée courses. Delicious hot, warm or cold, fresh out of
the oven or leftover from the night before (or before that!). Except
for roasted garlic and roasted bell peppers (and roasted chiles),
the other roasted veggies don’t freeze particularly well (although
quiche made from roasted veggies freezes excellently, and is a lifesaver
for a quick breakfast, luncheon or first course at dinner). The
techniques are similar for all of the roasted veggies (by now, you
know I believe in standardization!), so learn the techniques, and
put them into practice … TODAY!
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