Back to our roots

Digging it is in. Root veggies are flooding the farmers' market just as hours of sunshine shorten while air chills. They come to our rescue with slow released minerals and vitamins slowly absorbed all summer long. Plus they bring the bold colors of autumn to the table. So here are easy fixings for the most common locally grown roots. Learn them now and enjoy healthy, tasty, eye catching dishes all winter long. Recipes for celeriac and Japanese (Hakurei), aka salad, turnips coming soon.

Carrot and Potato Cake

This trio of the most popular roots--onions, carrots and potatoes-- is surprisingly simple to assemble yet a conversation piece to serve. It should be a crowd pleaser for kids, vegetarians and the gluten free. It goes with just about anything you want to serve, is appropriate any time of day and appears glamorous although it costs pennies. What more could you want? Orange carrots showcase the popular hue of autumn.
serves 6
1 med yellow onion, diced
4 lg or 7 med carrots, peeled and grated
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dill, finely chopped
3 med boiling potatoes (about 1 lb), peeled and very thinly sliced
pinch of saffron
1/8 tsp dried rosemary leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste

Use 2 tbsp butter to grease a 7" springform pan. If yours is 8", use an extra carrot and a large onion instead of a medium one so no worries. Preheat oven to 350º.Cut a piece of parchment or other grease proof paper into a circle the size of the prepared pan.

Combine 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet or fry pan, using an extra tbsp of oil if your pan is very large. Over med heat, melt the butter into the oil and when it starts to foam, add the onion with a pinch of saffron. Sauté 3-5 min until onion is soft and translucent. Stir in the carrots and dill. Sauté 1 min and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Put half the carrot/onion mix in the bottom of the buttered pan, leveling the top. Line the top with potato slices, covering everything. Overlapping slices work well. Put a pinch of dried rosemary on the potatoes. Press down lightly. Put the remaining carrot/onion mix on top and level. Top this with another layer of thinly sliced potatoes. Again press down lightly. Season the potatoes with a pinch of rosemary, freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of salt. Break 1 tbsp butter into tiny pieces and sprinkle over the potatoes. Put the cut piece of

parchment over the top and press down once again.  Put in the oven and bake at 350º 25 minutes, Remove from oven. Lightly press down--you can use a glass jar or other aid instead of your hand because it's hot--one last time, then remove the paper. Run a small spatula around the rim to loosen anything that sticks to the pan. Release the springform.
   For a more spectacular presentation, serve atop a plate of steamed spinach or chard.




Radish Cucumber Salad

Here's a transition dish for the last of the cucumbers with the most overlooked common root. And note: it's dressing free!  I'm a huge fan of the oblong pink and white sweet French breakfast radish because rolled in soft goat cheese or butter then coated with sea salt, it's a divine mouthful anytime of day. Bright red globe radishes have more bite and can be hard to incorporate. This salad shows them off in splendor. Their crunch, pepperiness enhanced by the cilantro and color brightens everything in the meal. They also make an excellent palate cleaner, perfect transition from a meaty dinner to dessert. Serving it with the potato carrot cake, crusty bread and a platter of cheese makes a perfect vegetarian lunch or light supper right now.

serves 6
1 lg cucumber, washed, halved lengthwise and seeded (you don't have to peel it)
1 doz red globe radishes, medium size
1 bunch scallions, sliced in thin disks (NOTE: purple scallions up the color ante)
1/4 c dill fronds, finely chopped
1 lg bunch cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to your taste
Optional: sprinkle of olive oil if you don't like dressing free salads

Cut the cucumber and radishes into bite-size chunks about the same size. Toss in a medium serving bowl with the scallions, dill, cilantro and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate to keep crunchy.
Glazed Red Beets with their greens

We now have golden beets and striped beets along with good old-fashioned red beets, lovingly known in Britain as "beetroot" and lovingly savored in the coldest countries of Europe as soup. This unusual, tasty and visually stunning recipe is from Central Asia and keeps those vitamin A rich greens with the beets. I posted it last year but it's worth repeating because it ups the appeal of the lowly red beet and you need a way to enjoy them without slow cooking borscht.

serves 4
4 medium red beets with greens attached
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 red onion, thinly sliced in disks
4 garlic cloves, smashed
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon leaves or 1 tsp dried (if you prefer the flavor of dill use it instead)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste

Wash beets and greens, then detach the greens with their stems from the beets.  Coarsely chop the greens and stems. Trim and peel the beets. Cut each into wedges (4-6). In a heavy gauge pan large enough to hold the beets in one layer, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté just until it softens. Add the beets and garlic. Drizzle the molasses over them and season with salt. Pour in just enough cold water to not quite cover the beets. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover with a lid, reduce heat to low/simmer and cook until beets are almost tender, maybe 20 minutes.  Remove lid, increase heat back to med/high and boil off the remaining liquid so you have glazed beets in the pan. Scatter the chopped greens around and over the beets, cover pan, reduce heat to low and cook 5 minutes. Uncover, add the tarragon, freshly ground black pepper and salt to your taste if you think it needs more. Serve hot


Korean spiced carrot salad

I get glamour mileage jazzing up a Central Asian carrot salad by using all the colors of carrots now available at farmers' markets. My other secret is to slice them with the peeler used to remove the outer hairs so they form curly strips. My version is always a big hit. The hardest, longest part is peeling the carrots into strips. After that it's fast food. It should be made ahead so the flavors meld so you can get it out of the way early. I have posted this recipe before; it's a keeper to repeat.

serves 4-5

1 lb multicolored carrots, peeled and trimmed
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp sesame seed
1 tsp coriander seed or 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin seed
3 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp good quality honey
1 garlic clove, smashed and minced
1 Serrano chili pepper, seeded and minced
2 tbsp sunflower, corn or other vegetable oil (not olive)
2 -3 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped

Using the peeler, shred the carrots into long thin strips. If you have a spiralizer, use it instead. Put in a large bowl and toss with salt.  Set aside 1 hour.
  In a dry pan toast the seeds you are using. Pour into a small bowl and try to crack a few coriander seeds if you can. Whisk in the vinegar, honey, garlic and chili. Whisk in the oil. Taste and if necessary add vinegar or honey to get a sweet sour balance. Pour the dressing over the carrots. Let the salad sit a few hours to marinate. Scatter the cilantro leaves all over to serve.

Leek and Dill Pie

Instead of a whole how to fix a leek post this year I'm spreading the wealth across several autumn posts. This leek pie is an alternative to the leek patties I posted last week. It's easier to make.  

Serves 6

4 lg leeks

4 tbsp corn or vegetable oil

2 yellow onions, finely diced

1 c large curd whole milk cottage cheese

2 extra lg eggs, lightly beaten

½ c coarsely grated Muenster, Jack or Havarti cheese

1/3 c coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped

Salt to your taste

¼ tsp ground cayenne or Aleppo pepper

to serve: minted Greek yogurt

Preheat oven to 350º. Use 1 tbsp oil to grease a 9” glass pie dish.

Cut the dark green stems and roots from the leeks. Slightly slit the stalks and wash them carefully under running water to get all the dirt out. (Putting them in a bowl of water puts the dirt back on the leeks.) Chop them into very thin rings.

In a med/lg skillet, heat 3 tbsp oil. On med heat sauté onion and leeks until soft and translucent, 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and blend well. Stir in the cooked leeks and onion. Pour into the oiled pie dish and level the top. Bake in the center of the oven 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown, you can’t make a fingerprint in it and a tester comes out clean.

   Serve with thick yogurt mixed with mint and lemon zest.