As the cold winds start to blow and we focus in on the home and hearth, our bodies need grounding foods to nourish us. This is the time of year our cold climate ancestors started relying on the bounty stored in their root cellars. Few of us have root cellars anymore, but luckily we have several local organic growers with excellent root storage, enabling us to enjoy local roots well into the winter.
Root vegetables have been and still are a very important food source worldwide. Since earliest times people have relied on root vegetables. Early hunter-gatherers collected a wide variety of wild roots; early agriculturists cultivated, selected, and improved these primitive roots because of their storage capacity. Parsnips, turnips, rutabagas, & beets were absolutely crucial food crops (both for people and as animal fodder) throughout Europe during the Middle Ages until potatoes came along and overshadowed them. And potatoes were a staple in South America for millennia before they were introduced to Europe. In most tropical regions, roots like cassava, yams, sweet potatoes, & yucca have always been more widely relied on than grain & cereal crops.
So maybe root vegetables are such comfort food because they are familiar to us on a cellular/evolutionary level. Or maybe they’re just good for us, filling & delicious. In general, root vegetables are very low in calories, negligible in fat, & high in various vitamins & minerals. There’s a myriad of root recipes–from soups to stews to casseroles–out there to nurture you through the winter. In most recipes, roots can be mixed & matched. For instance, a parsnip or a sweet potato can be substituted for a rutabaga or a turnip.
Turnips & rutabagas, part of the cabbage family, are high in vitamins C & A. They are both well suited to roasts, stews, casseroles (like au gratins & scallops), & mashes.
Sweet potatoes (often commercially called yams, even though a true yam hails from Africa and is rarely available in the US) are from Central America & are one of the healthiest (and tastiest) vegetables around (we’re so grateful to get local ones, as they’re tricky to grow in northern climes!). One baked sweet potato contains over 250% of your RDA of vitamin A, as well as high doses of vitamins C, B6, potassium, & iron. Sweet potatoes are delicious baked by themselves, or in roasts, mashes, soups, and casseroles.
Beets are related to Swiss chard and come in a range of colors, from the vibrant gold of gold beets, to the quirky bull’s eye stripes of Chiogga beets (boil/steam them whole, then slice, to preserve vibrancy of color), to the deep scarlet of red beets. Beets are high in folate, potassium, fiber, and iron. They can be boiled, steamed, roasted, or grated raw in salads.
Parsnips, carrots, & celeriac are all members of the parsley family. Parsnips are high in calcium, potassium, & vitamins C, A, & folate. Their mild, sweet, nutty flavor is great in roasts, soups, stews, casseroles, & mashes. Parsnips’ shape makes them easy to substitute for carrots in recipes. Carrots are loaded with vitamin A. Native to Afghanistan, carrots were originally white, then purple, and only acquired their now ubiquitous orange color through breeding in Holland in the 17th century. Celeriac is a wonderful substitute for celery in soups, stews, roasts, & casseroles. It’s nutty, celery flavor and rich texture is far more satisfying than watery celery in winter fare.
Nurturing and grounding root veggies make lovely additions to your holiday meals. And they’re grown by local farmers – which we can all feel thankful for! Look for various recipes near the colorful root displays in the produce aisle, and enjoy this easy Roasted Root Veggie recipe on your holiday table.
Honey Roasted Roots
7 c. mixed root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, turnips, etc.), chopped or sliced into bite sized pieces.
1 c. shallots, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/3 c. honey
1 Tbsp. dried rosemary, sage, or thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
Toss all ingredients in large bowl & pour into large, oiled baking pan. Roast at 450 degrees for 45-55 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
by Dani Lind, Produce Manager