Not the beauty pageant winners of the garden, root vegetables nonetheless lend themselves to beautiful preparations. Many roots can be eaten raw and all have a wonderful range of flavors.
Shredded beets, radishes, carrots, summer squash and celery make great garnishes for salads and soups. All root vegetables share the common bond of long storage capability and the ability to hold up under heat.
Traditional: Beets, carrots, garlic, horseradish, onions (yellow, white, red, green, pearl), parsnips, potatoes, radish, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, turnips.
Out of the mainstream: Celery root, chervil, chicory, sunchokes, Jerusalem artichoke, jicama, lotus root, salsify, shallot, taro, water chestnut, kohlrabi.
New and improved: Icicle, golden and white beets, white and purple carrots, planet and finger carrots, purple- and red-topped baby turnips, purple potatoes.
Root vegetables are willing partners in your kitchen, allowing you to use every cooking method imaginable. They can be boiled, steamed, baked, grilled, fried, braised, roasted and stir-fried in their entirety or minced, sliced, diced, julienned or tourneed (cut into seven-sided football shaped portions). Roots can be mashed (rosemary and garlic mashed potatoes), pureed (puree of carrot soup), baked (gratin of winter root vegetables) and used in breads (potato-garlic focaccia) and desserts (carrot cake, sweet potato custard). They can be done up in a wok (ginger and garlic water chestnut and lotus root), tossed into salads (crispy radishes, marinated onions) and used to create the soup du jour (beet-based borscht, cream of onion and sunchoke).
Just 'beet' it: Beets enjoyed a great deal of popularity through the past two centuries as a plant that is totally utilizable. The leaves can be steamed or braised and served as a side dish (beet greens are spicy and slightly acidic, so they should be mixed with mellow greens, such as spinach, rather than being served on their own). They can be served in salads and the root can be used as an ingredient for entrees, side dishes, soups and even desserts (grated fine and used in quick breads and muffins).
Beets may look unapproachable and tough, but remember that they have been grown over the years for their sugar content. Fresh beets are easily prepared. Order them from your produce supplier with the tops off (unless you'd like to add beet greens to your menu) and store them refrigerated until ready to use. To minimize a beet-red kitchen staff, scrub beets well and cook (they can be boiled, steamed or roasted) unpeeled. Once cooked, the peels are easily removed by hand. Boiled or steamed beets can be finished on the grill to caramelize their sugar content. Season fresh or canned beets with dill, parsley, fennel, lemon or tarragon).
Raw beets can be finely shredded and used as a salad garnish. Combine sliced fresh or canned beets with sliced potatoes to create a rosy, creamy gratin (toss vegetables with a Bechamel sauce made with silken tofu, top with grated soy cheese and brown). For a unique side dish, serve a warm salad of sliced, roasted beets (simply clean beets, place on sheet pan and roast in a hot oven until easily pierced with a fork; allow to cool and peel) tossed with walnuts or pecans, mandarin orange segments, olive oil, cracked black pepper and a dash of dried tarragon.
Flavor enhancers: Root vegetables are the ultimate ingredients for soups and stews. Root vegetables, more so then most other vegetables, improve with cooking, adding flavor, color and texture. Turnips and rutabagas have authoritative flavors, so use them as the star ingredient in soups. Beets will turn everything rosy, so consider what you would like your presentation to be. Daikon radish and lotus root (available canned if you can't find them fresh or frozen) take on the flavor of their pot-mates. Carrots, parsnips and sweet potatoes add sweetness. Potatoes, parsley root and taro are high in starch and, when mashed or pureed, will add thickness to soups; Jerusalem artichoke, carrots and celery root are higher in water content, adding moisture but not much thickening. The natural thickening ability of root vegetables translates into creamy, full soup textures. This enables you to create luxurious soups without dairy products, perfect for heart-healthy and vegetarian menu selections.
Leek and potato soup can be made quickly by sauteing cubed, peeled potatoes and diced leeks in olive oil or butter, covering with chicken broth and allowing to simmer until the potatoes are soft. Vegan-ize this classic by using mushroom broth. Potage Crecy is a classic puree of carrot soup, prepared with pureed carrots (cook carrots with a small amount of rice or potato until soft enough to be processed through a food mill or food processor), chicken stock, shallots and thickened with heavy cream and butter. Make it vegetarian by increasing the amount of rice or potato, using vegetable stock or carrot juice instead of chicken stock and omitting the cream and butter. The color is vibrant and the natural sugar and fiber in the carrots makes for a sweet, full-bodied soup.
And for dessert: Carrot cake and sweet potato pie are traditional American desserts which use root vegetables as their primary ingredients. Carrots, sweet potatoes and parsnips have a high sugar content. They can be fried, sprinkled with cinnamon and ginger, and used as a dessert garnish on baked items, custards and flans (use silken tofu instead of milk or cream for vegan versions).