In addition to the Brussels sprouts, Jamie Oliver inspired the roasted root vegetable megamix that we enjoyed on Christmas Day.  I figured it would be easy to get local (Connecticut) root vegetables to use in the recipe.  Our first stop was the Billings Forge Farmer’s Market in Hartford, where we were able to purchase a nice bunch of carrots.  One of the vendors also offered beet greens, but unfortunately did not have beets or turnip available.  Our next stop was the Wethersfield Winter Farmer’s Market, which did not really have any produce for sale.  We did buy some fresh lemon thyme though, and incorporated the herb into the recipe.  After stopping at two different grocery stores, we had turnips, beets, and parsnips and were ready to roll.

First, we parboiled the parsnips, carrots, and turnips for about 7-8 minutes in a large pot.  We parboiled the beets for close to 30 minutes in a separate pan.  Then, each vegetable was mixed with the ingredients listed below, and placed in a homemade foil compartment.

Carrots: olive oil, salt, pepper, juice of 1/2 orange, dried rosemary
Parnsnips: olive oil, salt, pepper, splash of white vinegar, fresh lemon thyme
Beets: olive oil, salt, pepper, splash balsamic vinegar, dried oregano
Turnips: olive oil, salt, pepper, splash red vinegar, dried crushed bay leaves

Finally, we roasted the vegetables at 375F for about 45 minutes and mixed them together to serve.

The real benefit to this method is that each vegetable tastes unique, but complements the other vegetables.  The beets were my favorite, with a nice flavor from the balsamic vinegar and oregano.  My second favorite though were the parsnips which were roasted with the lemon thyme.  While this recipe was a little labor intensive, it was fun to experiment .  Root vegetables are going to be in season for a while, so there’s plenty of time to try some combinations and see what you like best!

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