Roasted Rutabaga & Pears with Browned Butter, Honey & Rosemary

I considered making this side dish as part of our Thanksgiving feast but was unsure if the bag of root vegetables I received in my CSA share contained rutabagas or turnips! I didn’t want to take the risk. 😉

The interior of a rutabaga is a creamy yellowish-orange versus a turnip which is very white inside. Rutabagas are also much more mild and sweet in flavor compared to a turnip which can be spicy like a radish.

This recipe was adapted from 177MilkStreet.com, contributed by Rose Hattabaugh. I modified the method and proportions. I loved the combination of the starchy caramelized roasted rutabagas with the sweet pears and browned butter. Very nice.

Yield: Serves 8

• 6 T salted butter, divided
• 1 1/2 T minced fresh rosemary, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 1/4 pounds rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3 ripe but firm Bosc pears (about 1 pound), unpeeled, quartered, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 T honey
• 2 tsp sherry vinegar OR cider vinegar OR white wine vinegar

1. Heat the oven to 450°F with a rack in the middle position. (I set my oven to convection roast.) Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan over medium, melt the butter; remove from the heat and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon of rosemary, 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and 3 tablespoons of melted butter.
4. Add the rutabaga and toss to coat, then distribute in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet; reserve the bowl.
5. Roast the rutabaga for 15 minutes on convection or up to 20 minutes in a standard oven.
6. Meanwhile, in the same bowl, toss the pears with 1 tablespoon of the remaining melted butter; set aside.
7. Set the pan with the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter over medium and cook the butter, occasionally swirling the pan, until the milk solids at the bottom are golden brown and the butter has a nutty aroma, about 1 minute.
8. Off heat, whisk in the remaining 1/2 tablespoon chopped rosemary, the honey, vinegar and generous 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper; transfer to a heat proof bowl, cover and set aside.
9. When the rutabaga has roasted for 20 minutes, add the pears to the baking sheet and toss to combine with the rutabaga. Roast until a skewer inserted into the rutabaga and pears meets no resistance and the rutabaga is well browned, 10 to 12 minutes; stir once about halfway through.
10. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, immediately drizzle the rutabaga and pears with the browned butter mixture and toss to coat.
11. Taste and season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a serving dish. (I sprinkled fine sea salt over the top of the dish.)

Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpeas with Mustard Vinaigrette

My daughter and I made this lovely dish as a side for our Thanksgiving feast- although it was practically her entire meal. She absolutely loves cauliflower and garbanzo beans and is not a big fan of other Thanksgiving dishes. Dessert is her exception. 😉

This dish was adapted from It’s All Good by Gwyneth Paltrow and Julia Turshen, via theyellowtable.com. Healthy and delicious.

Yield: Serves 6 as a side dish

• 14 oz can garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed, and dried
• 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
• 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• coarse salt or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon whole grain seeded mustard
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

1. Set a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400ºF, preferably on convection roast.
2. Toss the chickpeas and cauliflower florets together on a parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet or in a large roasting pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and a big pinch of salt.
3. Roast, stirring now and then, until everything is dark brown and the cauliflower is quite soft, about 30 to 35 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, whisk together the mustards, vinegar, and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with a big pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper, or to taste.
5. While the chickpeas and cauliflower are still warm, toss them with the mustard dressing and the parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.

One-Pan Pork Sausage Meatballs with Green Lentils

I love one-pan dishes! This dish is made in the oven using one baking dish. It was also easy to prepare. 🙂 I modified the recipe due to personal preference- and to incorporate ingredients that I had readily available. I included all of the options in the recipe below.

This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by Ali Slagle. I modified the proportions and oven temperature, used celery instead of fennel, and added carrots. I also substituted sweet Italian pork sausage for hot sausage and green lentils for brown lentils. The vinegar was essential to the finished dish.

Yield: Serves 6

• 4 celery stalks, diced or 1 fennel bulb, cored, cut into 1/2-inch wedges through the root, plus 1/4 cup fresh fennel fronds
• 4 large carrots, diced
• 1 T extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds bulk hot or sweet Italian pork sausage (or fresh Italian sausages, casings removed)(or a combination)
• 1 egg
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups green or brown lentils
• 4 to 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 1-2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, plus more for serving

1. Heat the oven to 425°, preferably on convection.
2. In a 9×13-inch baking pan or baking dish, gently toss the celery and carrots (or fennel wedges) with the olive oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper. (I used a ceramic baking dish.)
3. Roast until vegetables are golden brown underneath, about 10 minutes for fennel or up to 20 minutes for carrots and celery. (Fennel will not be tender at this point.)
4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, use your hands or a spoon to mix the sausage with the egg until combined. Roll the mixture into 16 (1 1/2-inch) meatballs.
5. Add the chicken stock, lentils, garlic and rosemary to the roasted vegetables. Stir to combine, then season with 3/4 teaspoon salt.
6. Place the meatballs in the lentil mixture, drizzle the meatballs with olive oil, then roast until the meatballs are browned on top and lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
7. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Discard the rosemary sprig, then stir in the vinegar, parsley leaves and fennel fronds, if using (reserve a few fronds for garnishing, if desired). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Spoon the lentils and any braising liquid onto shallow bowls and top with the meatballs.
9. Garnish with additional parsley leaves and fennel fronds, if desired.

Arugula Salad with Peaches, Basil, Goat Cheese & Pine Nuts

I have a quite a few summer recipes to share. 🙂  I loved this simple salad so much, I had to post it first. I’ve already made it a couple of times! It is composed of many of my seasonal favorites. Bright, fresh, creamy, crunchy and absolutely perfect.

This recipe is from The New York Times, contributed by Lidey Heuck. I used half of the dressing. I made the salad with white peach slices, but it would also be wonderful with sliced nectarines or mango. The author also suggested substituting cherries, strawberries, plums, raspberries or even cherry tomatoes. Lovely.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6 as an appetizer or side salad

• 1/4 cup (4 T) pine nuts or walnuts
• 2 to 4 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 to 2 T champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 5 ounces baby arugula
• 2 ripe peaches, pitted and cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 10 ounces)
• 1/2 cup julienned fresh basil leaves
• 2 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled (about ½ cup), plus more to taste

1. In a small sauté pan, toast the pine nuts over medium heat, tossing often, until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. (I used a small cast iron skillet.) Remove from the heat.
2. In a small liquid measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. (I used 4 T olive oil and 2 T vinegar but used about half of the dressing on the salad and reserved the remaining dressing.)
3. Place the arugula in a large salad bowl. Pour just enough dressing over the greens to moisten, and toss to coat.
4. Add the peaches, basil, goat cheese and toasted pine nuts and toss to coat.
5. Toss gently and serve immediately.

Shortcut Chicken Stew with Fluffy Dumplings

This incredible comfort food dish uses rotisserie chicken meat as a shortcut. I made it even more of a shortcut by using my pre-made homemade stock, but I included the chicken stock instructions in the recipe below.

This recipe was loosely adapted from cookbook author Sheri Castle, via The Washington Post. The broth was rich and flavorful and the dumplings were the icing on the cake. Fluffy and fabulous. This is truly the perfect dish to serve on a cold winter night.

Yield: 6-8 servings

For the Stock & Stew:

• 1 large rotisserie chicken (Costco size) or 2 small rotisserie chickens
• 4 cups cold water (to make the stock) or 4 cups or homemade poultry stock (for a shortcut)
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock (store-bought or homemade) (4 cups if using pre-made homemade stock)
• 3 large thyme sprigs (to make stock)
• 2-3 tsp Kosher salt, plus more as needed, divided
• 1 T white wine vinegar
• 1 T unsalted butter
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 medium ribs celery, thinly sliced (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 medium carrots, scrubbed well and cut into thin rounds (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 T fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or more as needed

For the Dumplings:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 6 T unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and chilled
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

For the Stock & Stew:

1. Pull the meat from the chicken(s) and tear it into largish bite-size pieces; cover and refrigerate until needed.
2. I substituted/used 4 cups of homemade turkey stock instead of making stock with the chicken carcass. *If making the chicken stock base, place the carcass and skin in a large saucepan or small pot. Add the cold water, 8 cups broth, thyme sprigs and 1 teaspoon of the salt; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for about an hour, until the carcass falls apart and the liquid reduces to about 8 cups and tastes like rich chicken soup. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a large saucepan; discard solids.*
3. If using pre-made stock, combine the 4 cups homemade stock with 4 cups of store-bought chicken stock. Stir the vinegar into the stock, season with salt and pepper to taste, and keep warm on the lowest heat setting.
4. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, thyme leaves and a pinch of salt, stirring to coat. Cook for 8 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften, stirring often.
5. Add the 8 cups stock and cook for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Carefully watch the heat to ensure that the stock doesn’t boil over.
6. Season with 1 teaspoon salt (or more, to taste) and the pepper.
7. Stir in the reserved shredded rotisserie chicken meat; reduce the heat to low.

For the Dumplings & to Finish the Dish:

1. Whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, sugar and pepper in a medium bowl.
2. Work in the butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly.
3. Add the half-and-half and stir only until combined to form a soft, sticky dough.
4. Bring the chicken stew to a boil over medium-high heat. Use a 1-ounce scoop (I used a large cookie scoop) or two soup spoons to drop golf-ball-size dumplings evenly over the surface of the stew. The hot liquid seals the dumplings so that they rise instead of spread.
5. Reduce the heat to medium; cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until the dumplings are firm, fluffy and somewhat dry on top. Don’t be tempted to lift the lid- if the heat escapes, the dumplings may deflate.
6. Uncover and let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm.

Mustard-Herb Potato Salad

My husband had to work on Father’s Day, so we planned to have his special dinner belatedly the next day. I wanted to surprise him with a delicious pre-Father’s Day meal as well. It rained on my parade though…. instead of grilled chicken thighs with cilantro pesto we had baked chicken thighs, along with our favorite corn salad, his favorite caesar salad, and this mustard-herb potato salad. It was great! He had leftovers to bring to work on Father’s Day too. 🙂

This recipe was adapted from Everyday Food. Steaming the potatoes allows them to really keep their shape and makes a nice presentation.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

• 1 1/2 pounds red new potatoes, scrubbed and halved (quartered if large)
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley and/or dill

1. Place a steamer basket in a saucepan filled with 1 inch water. Bring to a gentle boil. Add potatoes. Cover, and cook just until tender, 15 to 20 minutes, tossing occasionally.
2. In a serving bowl, combine vinegar and Dijon; season with salt and pepper. Add hot cooked potatoes; toss. Let cool, tossing occasionally.
3. Add olive oil and herbs to cooled potato mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and toss.

One Year Ago:

• South Carolina Mustard Pulled Pork

Asparagus Mimosa

I love the combination of asparagus and eggs. We eat asparagus year-round, but I definitely serve it more often in the spring. Tender spring asparagus is hard to beat. 🙂 I planned a meal around this side dish because I REALLY wanted to make (& eat!) it. This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart Living. The dish is named for the pretty yellow-and-white flower, mimicked by the fluffy hard-boiled egg sprinkled over the top of the dish. The presentation was beautiful and it was so delicious I could have eaten all of it myself! 🙂

• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large hard-cooked egg
• 2 to 2 1/2 pounds steamed asparagus

1. Hard-boil the egg: Cover the egg with cold water in a small saucepan. Bring water to a boil, remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 12 minutes. Drain and refill pot with cold water to cease the cooking process. After the egg has cooled, remove the shell.
2. Steam asparagus for 10 minutes, or to desired tenderness.
3. Make the vinaigrette: Whisk together vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil.
4. Spoon vinaigrette over asparagus.
5. Push egg through a fine sieve over the dressed asparagus. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Mimosa image from blog.apieceapart.com

One Year Ago:

• Asparagus Gruyere Tart
• Asparagus, Leek, and Gruyere Quiche