Root Vegetables – Summer’s Jewels

Recently we posted about the bounties of summer and specifically highlighted some good ideas for what to do with all that zucchini! Read those ideas here! There are, of course, so many more wonderful vegetables that come from summer gardens. The DCI family enjoyed some freshly harvested root vegetables just last night. My parents have a beautiful garden and this week brought us carrots, red potatoes, red onions along with some cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers and of course, zucchini! The interesting thing about root vegetables is that at first look, they are not always pretty. I mean, think about it! Root vegetables don’t see the light of day until they are dug. They grow deep in the ground where little creatures roam and nibble usually undetected. They just don’t have a sporting chance at beauty as those veggies basking in the sun where pests are can be seen and sometimes defeated before they nibble. These particular ones we had are about as far away from a foodie magazine cover as you can get. However, once cleaned up and roasted, they were beautiful little jewels of orange, purple and red and even more delicious to eat.

Roasting root vegetables couldn’t easier. Peel the skin, except for the potatoes – that’s where a lot of the nutrition and flavor in a potato is found. Cut off an bad spots and toss those that are soft or largely rotten. The key is to chop everything roughly the same size and for the thicker, denser roots veggies, like carrots – cut them slightly thinner. Lay them all evenly on a sheet pan. If you want to make clean up easier, line the sheet pan with foil first. Drizzle everyone liberally with olive oil, season liberally with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and toss to coat evenly. Roast in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until tender. I like to lightly sprinkle with salt after they come out of the oven. That’s it! So good!

So, don’t judge a book or a vegetable by it’s cover! You’ll be glad you didn’t. Have you had success with root vegetables or have a question? Share it below in the comments! We can learn from each other!