This year we wound up accidentally stockpiling certain root vegetables from our winter CSA. Rutabagas. Parsnips. Turnips. The good news is that they last a log time. The bad news is, that takes away any imperative to use them up. The next thing you know, you crisper or root cellar (or wherever you keep them) is about to burst. We found this recipe in an attempt to use them up in volume to take . . . → Read More: How to Use Up Your Winter CSA / Rutabagas / Parsnips / Turnips and Make a Great Winter Vegetable Casserole]]>

This year we wound up accidentally stockpiling certain root vegetables from our winter CSA. Rutabagas. Parsnips. Turnips. The good news is that they last a log time. The bad news is, that takes away any imperative to use them up. The next thing you know, you crisper or root cellar (or wherever you keep them) is about to burst. We found this recipe in an attempt to use them up in volume to take care of the issue.

This recipe can be used with any winter root vegetables that you might have. Don’t limit it to the ones listed above. As you can see, I accidentally included some radishes that I though were turnips until I chopped them (watermelon radishes are green on the outside and they’re huge – tricksters!). As long as you get to three total cups, it works with any mix or ratio. However, I would suggest keeping it at least 75% “mild” ones (i.e., not radishes).

In order to use up as many of these vegetables as possible, we actually doubled this recipe and made two casseroles in separate casserole dishes (which, Lindsay informs me, are just called casseroles, but I reject that terminology). It wasn’t much more work than just making one (no more actually, outside of the peeling and cutting, but that is the bulk of the effort). We froze the second, right in the dish (covered with foil) and ate it a few weeks later when we didn’t feel like cooking dinner. This recipe stores and reheats well from the freezer as well as the fridge. (Please allow it some time to thaw!)

It’s easy, versatile, scalable, and stores well, including freezing. That’s the recipe for a go-to…recipe.

Now that I’ve made this (doubled) recipe a few times, I don’t bother to measure the chopped vegetables. Measuring cups of 1-inch cubes is a pain. I just keep going until the pot is as full as pictured. Keep in mind, though, that the pictures are of a doubled recipe.

Winter Root Vegetable Casserole

Makes 1 Casseroles / 4-6 servings

Directions

1. Chop the three cups of root vegetables into cubes of equal size (1 inch). Chop the carrots smaller (about a quarter-inch dice). Put them in a large pot, add 2 cups water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce it to a simmer and leave it until everything is tender enough to mash (12-15 minutes). Drain off the water

   

2. Once the vegetables are coming to a boil, turn the oven on to 375 degrees.
3. While the vegetables simmer, chop the onions and melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Saute the onions and set aside.
4. Measure out the nutmeg, salt and pepper in to one bowl. Measure out the breadcrumbs into a second bowl. Beat the egg into a third bowl. Have all three ready to go when the vegetables finish.

   

5. Once the vegetables are done and thoroughly drained, add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper to the pot. Mash! My trusty masher tool makes pretty quick work of it all. The carrots will probably not fully mash and incorporate but everything else will, which makes for a nice textural difference. Also, don’t over mash. You’re not making whipped potatoes; accept the lumps. If you push the boundary you might wind up with something more resembling paste.

   

6. Add the onion, eggs, and breadcrumbs and mix until gently fully incorporated and even. (See how much more yellow it is now?)

   

7. Grease a casserole dish or something similar (whatever you prefer – butter, canola oil spray, etc.) Fill the casserole dish with the mixture. Once the oven is at temperature (if it’s not already, put it in, uncovered, and bake for 35 minutes.

   

8. After 35 minutes, remove the dish, sprinkle on the grated cheese, and put it back in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until it’s the way you like it.

   The photo on the left shows the dish after the 35 minutes (notice the nice dark crusting around the edges – a sign you’re almost done. The one one the right is done, after cheese +10 minutes.

   

Enjoy!

I barely know who’s playing this year. I’m just not a huge sports fan…but I do like the food tradition! if you want to speed things up, you can make this recipe from store-bought beans, sour cream, and salsa verde. Honestly,though, even making it all from scratch, most of the time it was hands-off. It just took a bit of planning to know to start the day before.

This recipe is adapted from Gena . . . → Read More: Dark Days (Super Bowl Edition): Three Layer Bean Dip]]>

I barely know who’s playing this year. I’m just not a huge sports fan…but I do like the food tradition! if you want to speed things up, you can make this recipe from store-bought beans, sour cream, and salsa verde. Honestly,though, even making it all from scratch, most of the time it was hands-off. It just took a bit of planning to know to start the day before.

This recipe is adapted from Gena at Choosing Raw. Since our food focus is local and Gena’s is vegan, it’s a little different, but the inspiration and bean dip were all her.

Three Layer Dip

Ingredients:

Directions:

Layer One:

1. Heat the oven to 450.
2. Spread the bell peppers on a lightly oiled baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, stiring halfway through. They should smell delicious and be browned in spots. Note: I regretted putting these directly on the pan, because it required a LOT of elbow grease to clean up. I’d recommend lining the pan with foil first.

   

3. While the peppers are roasting, blend the rest of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth, like refried beans. You might need to add a tablespoon of the bean cooking water (or regular water) to get things moving.

   

4. Let the peppers cool briefly and then add to the food processor with the beans.

   

5. Process until smooth. Taste to judge if you should add more salt and pepper and add if needed.
6. Spread in an even layer on the bottom of a 4 cup ( = 1 quart = 32 ounce) container.

Layer Two:
Spread 1 cup of sour cream (store-bought or homemade) on top of the beans. We used cream from Milk Thistle Farm and buttermilk from Tonjes Family Dairy.

Layer Three:
Spread 1 cup of salsa verde (store-bought or homemade, again) on top of the sour cream. We used salsa verde we canned this fall using green tomatoes from our friends’ garden (Thanks, Brian and Mary!) and peppers from Oak Grove Plantation.

Serve with chips and veggies. We used yellow, orange, and purple carrots (from Paffenroth Gardens), watermelon radishes, and gilfeather rutabagas (both from Windfall Farms).

Lindsay and I always make sure to have at least half-dozen eggs in the fridge. As an aside, we make sure to buy good eggs from healthy chickens, usually from Knoll Krest, Flying Pigs Farm, or Grazin’ Angus Acres. More about our eggs in a future post. The primary reason that we make sure to keep eggs on hand is that when we have leftover vegetables that are getting long in the tooth, we . . . → Read More: How to Make a Frittata – The Cook’s Leftover Disposal]]>

Lindsay and I always make sure to have at least half-dozen eggs in the fridge. As an aside, we make sure to buy good eggs from healthy chickens, usually from Knoll Krest, Flying Pigs Farm, or Grazin’ Angus Acres. More about our eggs in a future post. The primary reason that we make sure to keep eggs on hand is that when we have leftover vegetables that are getting long in the tooth, we often like to make a frittata.

A frittata is a baked omelet. That’s all it is. Because there is no folding involved it’s actually a lot easier than a “normal” French omelet. And you can pretty much dump the kitchen sink into it.

Frittata isn’t a recipe so much as it is a universal technique. It’s the swiss army knife of leftover disposal.

If we have bell peppers that are getting wrinkled and rubbery and are no longer salad-worthy, we use them in a frittata. If we sauté leafy greens and don’t eat all of them, they don’t reheat well, so we use them in frittata. In today’s photos, we had been getting tired of eating leftovers of my roasted vegetables.

1. Get out a cast iron skillet. If you have more than one cast iron skillet, your choice will depend on how deep the ingredients are that you want to add. In our photos, the roasted vegetables are pretty thick, so we used a smaller pan to get a deeper frittata. If you only have one cast iron skillet, it’ll still be fine. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, get one.
2. Start by mixing the eggs as if you were making an omelet or scrambled eggs. We use 4 -6 eggs depending on the amount of “leftovers”. In these pictures we used 5 eggs. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add a little milk (optional), and whisk.
3. Put the “leftovers” in the cast iron skillet and space them evenly. Pour in the egg mixture and heat the skillet over medium to medium-high heat.

   

4. Once you have the heat going, add some (Kosher) salt and freshly ground pepper. If you want to mix in cheese, now is the time to do so.

   

5. At this point, you should turn on your broiler. Frittata works best of you have a gas oven with a separate broiler at the bottom, because those literally shoot fire balls straight over the pan. However, it works fine if you simply have an oven that has a “broiler” setting for the main compartment.
6. Leave the pan alone on the stove top for a few minutes. The next step comes when the edges of the eggs start to brown against the side of the skillet:

   

7. If you want to add grated cheese on top of the frittata (as opposed to mixed in), add it now. Remove the skillet from the stove top and put the entire skillet into the broiler / oven. This step is why it is important to use a cast iron skillet. Do not put a non-stick pan in the oven. Set a timer for 3 minutes. Check in on the frittata every minute after that until it is nicely browned but not burned:

   

8. Get out a trivet, because you don’t want to scorch your counter. As a bone-headed man, I have damaged many things. Also remember to use a thick oven mitt or pot holder, because the handle of the pan will be hot. Among the many things I have burned is myself.
9. Let the skillet cool (on the trivet) for a few minutes. This will also give the frittata time to set. Once it is no longer steaming, cut into it with a spatula. If you cut cleanly and straight through, your first slice should come out of the pan quite cleanly.

   

10. Frittata can make a great breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Stocked full of leftover vegetables, it’s a healthy option.

    

If you have leftover frittata (meta-leftovers?), let the pan cool completely, and cut it into individual slices before refrigerating. It reheats well in the microwave.

In order to make our lives easier, Lindsay and I tend to cook in volume so that a meal will stretch a few days. The downside is that repetition eventually gets boring. Frittata makes the old new again. Enjoy!

We already covered the how-to’s of roasting vegetables in our techniques section. Since it’s such an easy meal, I made a winter version last week while Lindsay was away. We had some vegetables that we had neglected and needed to use up. I took some pictures to document some of the atypical winter ingredients and cover a few helpful tips.

Ingredients