Sweet, Savory, Nutrient-Rich: It’s Root Vegetable Season!

This has been one of the ickiest winters ever on the East Coast. Snow, rain, below-freezing temperatures, ice, slush. Repeat. It’s weather that calls for warming soups, stews, and pasta. Those of us who try to eat locally grown food are up to our ears in root vegetables … and searching for new ways to prepare them.

Why should we be eating more root vegetables? And how do we make them delicious?

This is why root vegetables are so good for us.

Root vegetables grow underground, beneath the soil. Which means they can store a ton of nutrients, making them rich in vitamins, particularly A (good for our eyes and immune systems) and C (another immune system booster); rich in minerals like potassium (helps regulate blood pressure, muscle, and nerve function); high in inflammation-fighting anti-oxidants.

Carrots, beets, radishes, turnips, parsnips, sweet potatoes, potatoes, onions, rutabaga, garlic, shallots, fennel, celeriac, ginger, taro, water chestnuts, and turmeric are root vegetables.

Some root vegetables get a bad rap (think turnips, rutabaga, and possibly celeriac). Here’s my challenge to you: Choose a veggie you think you don’t like from the list above, and give it a chance. You may fall in love. Which is what happened to me last New Year’s Eve.

My husband and I were celebrating the New Year with good friends, at their home on the south coast of Massachusetts. My friend announced she was roasting turnips as an appetizer. OMG. I HATE turnips! (We all need at least one friend close enough we can say something like this to.) She said, “but wait – have you ever tasted a Macomber?” What’s that?

As it turns out, southeastern MA has its very own turnip: The Macomber. And after taking the first bite — my friend had simply cut it into chunks, tossed it in a bit olive oil and salt, and roasted it — OMG. I LOVE these turnips! Sweet, creamy perfection. (Inside joke for those who have watched the SNL 50th Anniversary Special: The turnips were like but-tah….). I’m pretty sure I ate more than my fair share.

Good News: Dennis Busa, a farmer at my local winter market in Cambridge, MA, grows them. I squealed with delight when I saw them. Busa told me he’d started growing them when chefs had started clamoring for them.

So, If you find yourself in Massachusetts during the winter, buy a pair of YakTrax, and be sure to seek out and buy a Macomber turnip. In the meantime, scroll back up to the list of root vegetables, and try a new one. Who knows? You may find your next true love.

Soup! Soup! Soup!

Parsnip Soup with Miso: Frankly, I wasn’t quite sure this soup would work; I was wary of the miso. I shouldn’t have been. The paste adds a deep umami flavor that perfectly balances the sweetness of the parsnips. You can either steam or roast the veggies before adding them to the aromatics and broth. I went with roasting, which brings out their sweetness. If you own an immersion blender, use it here; it purees the veggies beautifully, and cuts down on clean-up time.

Four Heads of Garlic Soup: To get the maximal health benefits of garlic, eat it raw. But who wants to do that? Enjoy all of the benefits of garlic (boosts immunity, anti-inflammatory, improves heart health) with none of the negatives (indigestion and horrible breath) with this simple, creamy, roasted garlic soup. A Big Yum.

Creamy Carrot Soup: Astute readers of Good News Veg will know that this is one of my all-time favorite soups. With a few ingredients, and not much time, you can produce a bowl of Vitamin A and protein-rich deliciousness. The secret ingredient is peanut butter. I use about half of what the recipe calls for, and supplement it with peanut butter powder. It’s natural, has all the taste, and 85% fewer calories than the kind you spread on toast.

Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!

Roasted Root Veggie Pasta: This is where you can sneak in a root veggie that’s new to you (celeriac, anyone?). It couldn’t be simpler; just cut up whichever root veggies you have on hand, bake to bring out their Best Selves, and toss with your favorite pasta.

Potato Gnocchi with Kale Sauce: The first part of this recipe teaches you how to make homemade gnocchi. Who am I to dissuade you from that? But given a plethora of excellent store-bought options (check to make sure they are vegan; some are made with eggs), I’ve never felt the need to put in this work. For me, the pull of this dish is the blending of pillowy gnocchi with a gorgeous, herbaceous green kale sauce. (I shouldn’t write these posts before lunch, because I want to run to my kitchen and make every one of these recipes right now. Especially this one!).

Sweet Potatoes! Sweet Potatoes! Sweet Potatoes!

Sweet potato Gambian Stew: It’s tough to find a stew with more complex flavors and nutrients than this one. The recipe creator, Nisha Vora, is known for combining unique flavors. Vora’s dishes are, inevitably, more delicious than you’d expect by reading the ingredient list; the sum is greater than the parts. Sweet potatoes stewed in cumin, coriander, cinnamon and cloves, my favorite “C” spices, will have you saying, more please.

Sweet Potato and Beet Tahini Bowl: Sweet potato, beets, chickpeas and a handful of pistachios tossed with arugula, topped with a bright, creamy tahini dressing … what’s there not to love about that? Great for lunch, or a light dinner (which I tend to have when I’m repenting for what my friend Heather refers to as “eating accidents,” i.e., over-indulging the day before).

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes: This is another one of those recipes to treat as a template. Start with a baked sweet potato, then use your intuition, or what’s in your refrigerator and pantry to stuff it, and you can’t go wrong. Last week I made an (overly complicated, and decidedly not-worth-the-time-but-tasty) Ottolenghi ragu, and had some left over. For lunch the next day, I threw a sweet potato into the microwave, topped with the ragu, and discovered Mr. Ottolenghi’s sauce was way better atop a sweet potato then it had been the day before, mixed with noodles. (Should I send him a letter?)