Getting to the Root of ThingsSquash,
carrots, turnips, parsnips, celery root and sweet potatoes are too dowdy
to be coy and too assertive to possess much nuance, surprise or mystery.
Their mealy texture and basic flavours render these vegetables of
teasing the senses. They seem fated, instead, to offer comfort and, when
pureed, a mashed potato kind of comfort. Hence
the accord between winter’s vegetables and the seasons appetite.
Pureed, the root vegetables of late fall and early winter are a
soothing, sturdy cure for the chilly emptiness brought on by wet winds
and icy lanes. Like a favorite sweater, a puree warms and comforts. It
provides an uncomplicated pleasure, and one that’s been underexplored. Root
vegetable purees can make a light winter meal, thicken pan juices for
gravy or serve as condiments for fish and roasted meats. Thinned with
cream, milk, or broth, a root vegetable puree can also make a velvety
soup. Rather
than push the creative limits of purees, however, cooks tend to take
them for granted. Plain potato or squash are the standard. The advent of
the food processor has aided and abettted this diminished inspiration:
as the act of making a puree became streamlined, so too was the thought
that went into it. Pressing
cooked vegetables through ricers, food mills or fine mesh strainers not
only renders a puree more intriguing in texture, it also gives the cook
time to taste and smell it. Enveloped in a cloud of steam while pushing
cooked vegetables through a sieve, you become quite intimate with your
ingredients and begin to sense the subtler flavours lurking there,
waiting to be complemented or enhanced. Roasted
beets with a dressing of all spice, cloves and walnut oil suddenly
become a wonderful accompaniment to smoked sausage or pork chops or,
served with braised red cabbage and rice they become the centrepiece of
a vegetarian meal. Carrots seem to demand roasted red peppers and the
combination sends roast beef or chicken soaring. Butternut squash wants
chilies and then it yearns to be a bed for sliced chicken, barbecued
shrimp or, teamed up with black beans, the filling for a burrito. A
touch of spice – orange and ginger for butternut squash, for instance
– can turn the mundane into the sublime. Something similar happens
when the unexpected are paired: apples pureed with sweet potatoes make
an excellent accompaniment to roast pork or ham, or a whole meal with a
bitter green salad and Roquefort cheese; pears add a new dimension to a
potato watercress puree and an intriguing foil to roast beef or lamb. And
roasting rather than boiling or steaming, can lend a slightly
caramelized note that mellows and softens the hard scrabble nature of
winter vegetables. With a little imagination and minor acts of alchemy,
the dross of winter produce can be pushed and sieved into gold. Roasted
Carrot and Turnip Puree Serves
4 8
medium size carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch lengths 6
medium size turnips, peeled and quartered ˝
cup chicken broth sea
salt to taste fresh
ground black pepper 1)
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place the carrots and turnips in a
roasting pan. Roast until the vegetables are very tender, stirring
frequently, about 1 hour. Place the carrots and turnips in a food
processor with the chicken broth. 2)
Process until smooth, stopping several times to scrape down the
sides of the bowl. Season with salt and pepper and serve. |
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