Carrots
Roasted Root Veggies
This is one of our go-to recipes anytime there are beets and potatoes and it isn't too hot out. Simple, delicious, and infinitely variable.
Preheat the oven to 375•.
Chop veggies into approximately 1 inch chunks. Potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnip, celeriac, rutabaga… Brussels sprouts, peeled garlic cloves, chunks of onion… Chopped bacon or slices of sausage (the lamb sausage from Duclos & Thompson is especially good). What else can you think of?
Toss with olive oil, sea salt, and spices if you like. Caraway and whole cumin are some of our favorites. Sprigs of rosemary are good if you have some, but bury them under the veggies so they don’t burn.
Spread into an even layer in an ovenproof dish. Cast iron pans are good for smaller batches; lasagna pans good for big ones.
Cover the pan with tinfoil. Roast until tender, stirring occasionally if you think of it. How long will depend on the veggies and how small you cut them; start testing after 25 minutes or so. Beets tend to take the longest.
Winter Pickles
So it's the end of February, and we've got a pile of rutabagas about the size of my head still in the cold cellar (which is actually a slightly retrofitted refrigerator), as well as a big pile of carrots that are starting to think about getting a little bendy. These pickles are just the thing.
I've adjusted this recipe a whole bunch of times, and I suggest you do the same, but it originally came out of Cooking With Shelburne Farms by Melissa Pasanen and Rick Gencarelli. The amounts below will give you about a half-gallon of pickles.
1/2 of a rutabaga the size of your head
all the carrots getting bendy (or about 6 even if they're good)
1 c each cider and white vinegar
3 c water
1 T salt
1 T sugar
as much garlic as you can stand
pickling spices of your choice (I use mustard seed, black peppercorns, red pepper flakes, dill seed and dried dill, about a spoonful each)
Combine vinegars, water, and spices in a small non-reactive pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for ten minutes or so.
Chop the rutabaga and carrots into matchsticks. (The Shelburne Farms recipe suggests blanching them, but I find that they got too soft for my taste - blanching does make them pickle up faster, especially the carrots, so you might want to try it.)
Place veggies in a clean mason jar or two, and pour the hot brine over the top. Let cool, then refrigerate.
Let it all steep for a few days, and enjoy!
This is one of our go-to recipes anytime there are beets and potatoes and it isn't too hot out. Simple, delicious, and infinitely variable.
Preheat the oven to 375•.
Chop veggies into approximately 1 inch chunks. Potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnip, celeriac, rutabaga… Brussels sprouts, peeled garlic cloves, chunks of onion… Chopped bacon or slices of sausage (the lamb sausage from Duclos & Thompson is especially good). What else can you think of?
Toss with olive oil, sea salt, and spices if you like. Caraway and whole cumin are some of our favorites. Sprigs of rosemary are good if you have some, but bury them under the veggies so they don’t burn.
Spread into an even layer in an ovenproof dish. Cast iron pans are good for smaller batches; lasagna pans good for big ones.
Cover the pan with tinfoil. Roast until tender, stirring occasionally if you think of it. How long will depend on the veggies and how small you cut them; start testing after 25 minutes or so. Beets tend to take the longest.
Winter Pickles
So it's the end of February, and we've got a pile of rutabagas about the size of my head still in the cold cellar (which is actually a slightly retrofitted refrigerator), as well as a big pile of carrots that are starting to think about getting a little bendy. These pickles are just the thing.
I've adjusted this recipe a whole bunch of times, and I suggest you do the same, but it originally came out of Cooking With Shelburne Farms by Melissa Pasanen and Rick Gencarelli. The amounts below will give you about a half-gallon of pickles.
1/2 of a rutabaga the size of your head
all the carrots getting bendy (or about 6 even if they're good)
1 c each cider and white vinegar
3 c water
1 T salt
1 T sugar
as much garlic as you can stand
pickling spices of your choice (I use mustard seed, black peppercorns, red pepper flakes, dill seed and dried dill, about a spoonful each)
Combine vinegars, water, and spices in a small non-reactive pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for ten minutes or so.
Chop the rutabaga and carrots into matchsticks. (The Shelburne Farms recipe suggests blanching them, but I find that they got too soft for my taste - blanching does make them pickle up faster, especially the carrots, so you might want to try it.)
Place veggies in a clean mason jar or two, and pour the hot brine over the top. Let cool, then refrigerate.
Let it all steep for a few days, and enjoy!