Recipe Connection: Roasted Winter Vegetables

I’ve been ready to try this recipe ever since my August trip to Minnesota, when my friend made me delicious Brussels sprouts and I tried fennel for the first time with my salmon. She showed me this winter veggie recipe with fennel in the same book as the sprouts and was even kind enough to email it to me later.

It has been edited a bit, as happens with most recipes that dare to pass through my kitchen, although this one was the result of a faulty memory and poor prior planning, rather than a taste preference. I was purchasing ingredients based on a month-old memory, and I only hit some of them correctly.

My mistake allows me to share it with you during squash week, though, so it all worked out nicely in the end.

Recipe: Roasted Winter Vegetables

Ingredients:

1 fennel
2 turnips
3 carrots
2 parsnips
1-2 cups winter squash (I used buttercup)
3+ Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper
2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

Method:

Cut all the vegetables into 2-inch chunks. Use only the bulbous part of the fennel and save the stalks and fronds for homemade stock or a versatile recipe in which anise-flavored celery would fit. To prepare the squash, you may need to place it, whole, into the oven during the preheat to soften in order to cut it in half. Scoop out the seeds, then cut into chunks. If using a butternut squash, you may be able to peel it with a vegetable peeler. You  might roast the rest of the squash at the same time and puree it for many different uses (see the Monday Mission).

In a large roasting pan or 9×13 glass dish, toss the vegetable chunks with at least 2 Tbs EVOO to coat. Add the thyme, salt and pepper and mix well. Roast in a preheated 400F degree oven for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes. Add the last Tablespoon (or more) of oil and continue roasting for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until vegetables are brown and caramelized.

Serve immediately garnished with fresh parsley.

As thyme and parsley are two of the only edible things growing in my garden right now, it seemed fated that I would try this recipe, even if I did forget that it called for a yam, not a squash, in the original.

My only beef with this recipe is that the parsnips did not get done at the same rate as the other veggies. If I make it again, I would tweak it more and roast the parsnips first for at least 20 minutes, or maybe steam them to give them a head start. I’d also cut them much smaller, or just skip the things altogether since they’re my least favorite.

I also might add more seasoning, perhaps some marjoram and additional thyme. I thought only 3 Tbs. of oil was asking a lot of the oil, and the dish needed a great deal more to cover all the vegetables with any flavor at all. It was a respectable and healthy fall side dish in the end, but not a way to “hide” your squash whatsoever. 🙂

Enjoy trying some new squash recipes this month, and do let us know if you find a winner!

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