A root vegetable for every season
I live in Chicago, land of too many root vegetables. A turnip the size of a softball landed on my doorstep the other day, thanks to my farm. It joined, variously, 14 large white radishes, a dozen beets, and five pounds of carrots. Something must be done. The answer is roasting.
The short answer
Chop everything into 7mm cubes or slices, toss in olive oil/salt/pepper, roast at 425º for 30 minutes.
Tubers (e.g. potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, sunchokes) don’t count, everything else does.
The long answer
This includes:
- Radishes (yes, radishes)
- Kohlrabi
- Turnips
- Beets
- Carrots
- Parsnips
- Sunchokes
- Celeriac
You can season it with:
- Chili flakes
- Oregano
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Sage
- Curry powder
- Berbere
You can top it with:
- Vinegars, especially small amounts (1tsp?) of high-acid red wine vinegars (e.g. sherry, muscat, baoning, balsamic)
- Soy sauce, especially dark soy or barrel-aged soy
- Gochujiang
- Chili oil
- Hot sauce
- Sichuan peppercorns
Check in at 25 minutes to make sure the bottoms aren’t burning. You want a light char but nothing deep. Not all ovens are built equally.
Allium (onions, garlic, leeks, etc) is a nice thing to add midway through. Avoid any scallion or ramp greens, they’ll burn. Make sure you coat with oil before adding.