Roast Archives - Page 3 of 3

Jerusalem Artichoke bulbs

A trip to the Union Square farmer’s market with Laura last week made clear that we have a way to go before spring produce makes its grand appearance. Root vegetables galore. Nary a pea, ramp or asparagus stalk in sight. This is the time to experiment with what we’ve had available for a while but have overlooked. Behold the Jerusalem artichoke!

Arial view of plated Roasted potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes

My singular experience with Jerusalem artichokes happened early springtime during college, a day I will never forget. I was taking an urban gardening course and my “classroom” was a private plot on the Lower East Side. It was still freezing. We were sifting through the melting ice with picks to attempt to wake up the unyielding dirt beneath the melting snow. Almost immediately, we began to unearth tons of little bulbous roots. My professor explained that they were called sunchokes, or Jerusalem artichokes, and that while they were edible and delicious, they were known to dominate gardens and were often seen as a nuisance.

Clean Jerusalem Artichokes

Back to the present. As Laura and I perused the Union Square stalls, we encountered those same irregularly shaped spuds and decided to purchase them in a moment of curiosity. We took them home with us, along with the many other small brown bags filled with root vegetable goodies, and set to searching for ways to best prepare them. In the end, we came to the consensus to simply roast them in a mix of fingerling potatoes along with some EVOO, salt and pepper to best bring out the integrity of the ingredient.

Potatoes and Jerusalem Artichokes to Roast

The result was beyond our expectations. A delicate, earthy, almost sweet flavor coupled with a just-crisp exterior and smooth, creamy interior. We finished the root vegetable mix with some bright lemon juice and zest and a scattering of parsley leaves as we nearly always do. In this moment we were reminded that simplicity almost always equals perfection when you’re working with the best produce.

Plated Roasted potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes by a window

Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Note: It’s a good idea to mix sunchokes with another root vegetable because consuming too much can be difficult on some people’s tummies. This has earned them quite a reputation. No one in the WWE crew has ever felt a thing though so don’t be afraid to try them!

Simple Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes and Fingerling Potatoes

Ingredients:

¾ lb Jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes, scrubbed clean, then cut into 1 inch wedges

¾ lb fingerling potatoes, scrubbed cleaned, then halved or quartered

A few tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup parsley leaves

1/2 lemon, juice and zest

Method:

Preheat oven to 425. Toss sunchokes and potatoes together with the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 30-40 minutes, flipping once or twice, to ensure even browning. Allow to cool on sheet tray for 5-10 minutes. This allows the vegetables to stay nice and crisp. Finish with the zest and juice of ½ lemon and a scattering of parsley leaves. Enjoy!

Roasted Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes with a healthy char

The holidays are officially over. With the grind of the new year in full swing and the harshness of New York cold weather setting in, everyone is buckling down for the next few months. I’m trying my absolute hardest not to let the winter blues get me down, and I am finding that more often than not, I turn to food to bring me comfort.

While winter conditions definitely make it difficult to find fresh produce, the season still provides for many delicious and hearty meals. In fact, my very favorite vegetable is easily accessible this time of year. That’s right. Give me all the broccoli.

Broccoli is so versatile and can be addictive prepared in any way! Steamed, stir-fried, roasted, or even eaten raw, the possibilities are endless. One can even thinly shave the stems and use them in a salad or sautéed for a meal, but that is a conversation for another day. Today I want to talk about my favorite preparation for broccoli: roasting. Super simple and with a huge punch of flavor, I like to toss the prepped broccoli with seasonings and oil and then blast it in the oven set to a really high temperature. This ensures that the broccoli gets a healthy char while still retaining some crunch. Nobody wants to eat something that can be described as “limp”. Toss with some lemon zest and voila, you have brought life to something in this artic tundra.

Over the years I have learned that my own personal preference in flavor combination is to combine sweet with savory. Therefore, I have found great value in the use of fresh or dried fruit in many of my dishes. There’s nothing like the subtle pop of flavor in every few bites when you encounter something sweet. As of late, one of my absolute favorite additions to a salad is the ever persevered, simple and basic (drumroll please….) raisin. This traditional ingredient dates as far back in my memory as “ants on a log” in childhood snacks, but has now been reinvented by the chefs at What We Eat. Though a raisin in itself is a tasty little burst of sweetness, we sometimes opt to re-hydrate the chewy little grape into something else. This can be done using warm water, or if you like, you can opt to add an acid to the mix for a pickling effect.

Through experimentation, we have perfected a winning combination of spices to create an amazing pickling recipe for grapes and raisins. The result is an unbelievably sweet, tangy and slightly spicy treat. Think warm winter spices with a kick of heat from red chili flakes. Having this recipe in your arsenal is a sure-fire way to add surprise and curiosity to a salad or grain dish.

With love, Kristina

For the Wild Rice:

1 cup wild rice, rinsed

Cook rice according to package directions.

For the Broccoli:

1 head broccoli, cut into large florets

½ tablespoon olive oil

1 pinch red pepper flakes

½ tsp granulated

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

On the stove top, bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Blanch broccoli for 30 seconds and refresh in ice cold water. Dry completely.

On a large sheet tray, toss the broccoli with a good glug of olive oil, granulated garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Roast, undisturbed for 15 minutes. Take broccoli out of oven and flip (it should have a nice char on one side). Return to oven for another 15 minutes until crisp and caramelized. Remove and allow to come to room temperature.

For the Pickled Raisins:

2 cups golden raisins

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1 cinnamon stick

3 cloves

1 star anise

1 tablespoon fennel seed

½ tablespoon sugar

1 tsp salt

Method:

In a saucepot, bring the water, vinegar, spices, sugar and salt to a slow simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes. Once the sugar has dissolved, strain the hot liquid over the raisins and allow to sit until cool.

When you are ready to build the salad, drain raisins and mix with the charred broccoli and wild rice. Add in a large handful of mint/cilantro/scallions and dress with a few tablespoons of the pickling liquid and some olive oil. Enjoy!

Other Uses for Pickled Raisins:

Chicken salad

Grain bowls

Breakfast parfaits with granola and greek yogurt

Tag: Roast

Jerusalem Artichokes

Winter Wild Rice Salad with Charred Broccoli and Pickled Raisins