Stretch Your Food Dollar: Utilizing Root Vegetables
Welcome to another edition of our weekly food budgeting series.
One of my favorite things about the Fall is the abundance of root vegetables that are available. Right now you can find beets, turnips, parsnips, and rutabagas at super prices at your grocery store or in your CSA basket. When I was young, I never really cared for these ‘œugly’ looking vegetables, especially beets. This is probably because I had only ever had pickled beets from a can. However, when I was in high school and living in Idaho, my aunt made some fresh beets for dinner one night and I was hooked. Now I can’t get enough!
One of the great things about root vegetables, aside from their taste and versatility, is that they keep for a long time in the refrigerator. So follow me after the jump for storage tips and a few great recipes that I am sure you’ll enjoy as much as I do.
When you get your root vegetables home, don’t wash them before you put them in the refrigerator. As soon as water hits the vegetables, they will start to loose their freshness. Do, however, trim off any of the greens. The greens will start to wilt before the rest of the vegetable. As with most other vegetables, root vegetables should be stored in a plastic bag to help maintain freshness.
Turnip and beet greens are really delicious and can be served by themselves or as an accompaniment to the roots. Just wash, trim, and braise them in a frying pan with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic. So quick, so easy, and so delicious!
Beets are extremely easy to prepare. Just trim off the root and top end, then scrub off any dirt. Don’t bother peeling them before you cook them. The easiest way to do this is after they’re tender.
Roasted Beets
If you want to roast your beets, take a piece of parchment paper and fold it in half, then cut out a heart just like you did when you made valentines in elementary school. Put the beets on one half of the unfolded parchment paper. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and add a little salt and pepper. Fold the top over and fold the edges shut by folding little sections over the top of each other, kind of like you would seal a piecrust. (This cooking method is called “en papillote.” It’s a terrific way to cook fish, chicken, duck . . . you name it!) Place the envelope of beets on a baking sheet and stick this in a 375 ° oven for 30-45 minutes. Take the beets out of the oven and remove the paper. Be careful as you’re doing this, because you will release a lot of steam from the envelop. When the beets are cool enough to touch, but still warm, use a paper towel to rub off the skin. Slice the beets and use them as a side dish, or put them in a salad when they’re cool. These are especially beautiful if you have two or three varieties of beets for different colors and textures.
Here’s another way to prepare beets to give them a little extra pizzazz.
Roasted Beets with Fennel and Oranges
(Makes 8 servings)
1 pound beets
1 fennel bulb
3 oranges
3 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1. Trim and wash the beets. Boil in a medium pot until fork tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Remove beets from water and while still warm, use a paper towel to remove the skin from the beets. Thinly slice and put in a mixing bowl to cool.
3. While beets are cooling, peel the oranges and use a knife to remove the sections from the membranes. Squeeze the juice from the membranes over the beet slices, and discard the membranes.
4. Thinly slice the fennel bulb. Reserve the fronds for a garnish.
5. When beets are cool, add fennel, orange slices, and garlic to the mixing bowl. Dress with oil and vinegar and lightly season with salt and pepper.
6. Allow this to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve cold. Garnish with fennel fronds. This dish makes a wonderful first course, or a nice Fall lunch. It will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days, but the flavor or the garlic and vinegar will be pretty overwhelming if you keep it longer than that.
* This recipe is from The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without, by Mollie Katzen of the Moosewood Restaurant Collective. I have all of their cookbooks. And I have to say, as a vegetarian, these are worth their weight in gold!
Root vegetables also make hearty soups. If you make a big batch at the beginning of the week, you will have plenty of leftovers that you can freeze or bottle. The best part is that you can throw all of the ingredients in your crock pot before you go to work, and you’ll have a hot dinner waiting for you when you get home!
Hearty Vegetable Soup
(Makes 4 ½ quarts)
3 quarts vegetable broth
1 Tbsp salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3-4 cups tomato juice, to taste
3 cups canned chopped tomatoes, with their juice
2 ½ cups chopped yellow onions
3 medium turnips, peeled and cubed (about 2 ½ cups)
2 cups sliced carrots
5 red potatoes, peeled and diced
1 ½ cups chopped cabbage
1 cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
¼ cup chopped green onions
1. Combine broth, salt, and pepper in a large heavy pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the tomato juice and canned tomatoes and return to a boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer for approximately half an hour, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the vegetables (except bell peppers and green onions) and simmer until the vegetables are fork tender, about 30 minutes. If soup gets too thick, add up to 1 cup of water. Add the bell peppers and green onions, stir, and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and adjust the seasoning to taste. Ladle the soup into large shallow bowls and serve immediately.
* This recipe was veganized from Emeril Legasse’s Emeril’s Delmonico Cookbook. Emeril calls for chicken stock in addition to water, but I think the vegetables in this soup can stand up on their own. You could substitute a large rutabaga for the potatoes in this recipe. I’ve also added thinly sliced kale right at the very end. There are so many ways to spin this recipe.
Roasted root vegetables are another one of my favorite side dishes. Just like the soup, try mixing it up a bit by using different veggies each time you prepare this recipe. I like to use different varieties of potatoes, like fingerling or blue potatoes, just to give this a new spin. Because this dish is a little like a Liza Minelli drag queen ‘“ you need to keep it fresh by putting a new twist on an old classic.
Roasted Vegetables with Honey and Vinegar
(Makes 4 servings)
1 ½ cups sliced fennel bulb (approx. 1 small bulb)
1 ½ cups peeled butternut squash, medium dice
1 ½ cups red potatoes, medium dice
1 cup peeled turnip, medium dice
1 cup sliced parsnip, medium dice
1 Tbsp olive oil
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp fresh thyme
¼ tsp black pepper
6 cloves whole garlic, peeled
3 large shallots, peeled and halved
cooking spray
1 Tbsp honey
1 ½ tsp cider vinegar
1. Preheat oven to 450 °.
2. Combine vegetables in a large bowl; toss well with olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme.
3. Arrange veggies in a single layer on a cookie sheet greased with cooking spray. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until vegetables are browned and tender.
4. Place cooked veggies in a large mixing bowl. And honey and cider vinegar. Toss to coat. Serve immediately.
I want to offer a final word about pumpkins today, even though they’re not a root vegetable. I’m sure you’re trying to figure out what to do with all those seeds you scooped out when you made your Jack-o-lantern. You could just just roast them in the oven with a little bit of olive oil and kosher salt. But why not spice it up a bit? I like to add some curry to my roasted pumpkin seeds. This year I experimented by doing a batch with Jamaican jerk seasoning, and another batch with cinnamon and sugar. They were all delicious. But I have to say that the curry will really knock your socks off.
Next week I’m going to devote an entire article to my favorite root vegetable of all time, the potato. They’re so cheap, and they keep forever. It’s no wonder that many cultures use potatoes as a subsistence crop. So be sure to check back next Wednesday for my ode to this wonderful tuber. Until then, be sure to leave a comment with any of your favorite ways to prepare root vegetables.
The flavored pumpkin seeds really are great! I had never thought to put anything but salt on them.
Great article Serena..though storing things like Potatos in the fridge is a bad idea.
When it turns cold..or you store “dormant” vegetables in the fridge the natural reaction of the plant is to convert Starch to Sugar. The short part of the long answer is Sugars act as anti-freeze does keeping water in the vegetable from freezing if the temp drops low enough..Salt does the same thing, thats why they salt the roads up north in the winter..Brine has a lower freezing point than plain water…
Ever suck the super sweet sugar water and flavor out of a popsicle leaving a white ice cube on the stick????
In a potato especially the starches become sugars…not a problem if you are going to boil them but if you are going to fry them you end up with burned black caramelized sugars on the outside and the inside isn’t even cooked yet.
It takes several days for the sugars to be returned to starches once a potato is left at room temperature so end use should decide where you store them.
That said I LOVE a baked potato and the Nuclear Oven makes it easy.
I buy a very large baking potato (I try for a 1 lb. or bigger) and rinse it down to get off any dirt. I wrap it in a piece of paper or towel and put it in the oven for 13 to 15 minutes on High turning it over once.
It then goes into a plastic bag and into the fridge or into the lunch bag. At Lunch time I pop it into the Microwave for a minute or two to heat it up then add whatever fixings I want.
The sit in the Plastic Bag keeps the steam from the potato inside keeping it moist and the residual heat finishes cooking it to the texture I like…I like it soft, almost like a Mashed Potato consistency.
Works wonderfully with Sweet Potatos too…a bit of butter and cinnamon sugar…YUM!!
~ Roland
i’m almost convinced that these things could be tasty. i’m nearly convinced. for now, i just leave all that stuff to the bunny (: it’s tempting!
Roland, thanks for the point about potatoes. I should have clarified that in this post, but I’ll definitely be talking more about it next week.
Funny, I just roasted some pumpkin seeds the other day when I carved my pumpkin =)… they were yummy, almost burned them– so a word of caution– watch your seeds so you don’t burn them!! I didn’t go crazy with mine like Serena, but I did use some general seasoning salts. Next time I’ll have to try something more adventurous.
Thanks for the recipes and cooking ideas for the hearty root veggies! (Remember…these are the easiest veggies to grow in your garden!) That hearty soup gets better by the day with the flavors blending. It is easy to make a big batch and you can include all your leftover veggies too. Suggestion: freeze leftover veggies and include them in your soup pot. I would love to see more recipes for soups!!
My favorite way to cook carrots is to steam them with sliced onions. I love that flavor combo! And, I agree with Roland’s mention of baked sweet potatoes…they are great!
I noticed one of the recipes is from the Moosewood Collective. I have only one of their cookbooks. It is one of may favorites. I am excited to try the roasted beets. I also want to compliment you for focusing on seasonal foods. Not only are they less expensive, they provide an interesting variety of things to eat throughout the year 🙂 Thanks for another great installment.
These recipies sound so good, I’m going have to try them all! Although after all that cooking, I might be beet…
Ugh- I am such a dork…
There are some very good dutch recipes using root vegetables including hustpot (carrots, onions and potatoes mashed together with butter and a little milk). And of course using both above ground and root vegetables such as boerenkool (kale and potatoes masked together and served with sausage – works great also with sweat potatoes) Surenkool (saurkrout) potatoes with saurkrout mixed in and served with sausage. Roienkool (red cabbage) cooked with onion and apple and served over mashed potatoes with beef tenders in gravy.
Root vegetables can be preserved for several months in cool cellar or basement or even in a pit in the yard if the temperature is cold enough.
Another great post.