Category: sides

Balsamic Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

I did a lot of cleaning on New Year’s Day, including my produce drawer. That’s when I found a couple of carrots and parsnips asking to be roasted for dinner. I didn’t follow an exact recipe, but I tossed the cut slices with Garlic Gold, balsamic vinegar, salt, and paprika. Then I roasted them at 400F for about 45 minutes. They were fantastic served with some chicken that I rescued from the freezer. Take a look in your refrigerator and pantry, you never know what you’ll find!

Roasted Beets and Kale

Way back at Thanksgiving, my family planned our Christmas Eve menu. Lists were made on yellow legal pads, guest preferences were weighed, and then the final items were confirmed. I suggested the addition of a vegetable dish featuring roasted beets and kale. Red and green vegetables, get it? My sister claimed no one would eat this, especially in the midst of antipasto, baked stuffed shrimp, homemade manicotti, and ham.

I am happy to say that the dish went over pretty well! It did leave a trail of beet juice and olive oil in the bottom of my Mom’s oven, but she’s come to expect these things when I’m around. I modified the recipe above slightly, and here’s how it went:

6-8 beets, peeled and cubed
1/4 c. olive oil
Salt & Pepper
4-5 cups coarsely chopped kale leaves
1/2 c. feta cheese
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

Toss beets, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a baking dish, and bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Add chopped kale, stir, and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Place vegetables in a bowl, and add feta cheese and balsamic vinegar. Taste and correct as needed. (I added another drizzle of olive oil, and more salt and pepper.) Serve at room temperature.

Tandoori Vegetables

Another one of my Penzey’s finds was Tandoori Seasoning. I was excited to add another Indian spice to my cabinet, and figured it would be easy to find recipes. However, I didn’t quite realize that true tandoori requires a clay oven and a hot open fire.

So after a quick search, I found a recipe for Tandoori Vegetables for those of us with a standard oven and cookie sheet. The yogurt marinade had a beautiful color and wonderful scent, but somehow after the vegetables were roasted, the flavor fell flat. Perhaps I need to use more seasoning? I am not sure, but I sprinkled a little paprika on the top, and it still made a nice dish. Maybe I’ll try this again when it’s grill season. Which is soon, right?!?

1 t minced garlic

1 1/2″ cube fresh ginger, peeled

2 t Tandoori seasoning

1/4 t cayenne pepper

2 c. nonfat plain yogurt

5 small red potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

2 zucchini, sliced

1 Vidalia onion, sliced

1 c. frozen peas, thawed

Place garlic, ginger, Tandoori seasoning, and cayenne in a food processor and blend. Add yogurt and blend until combined. Add vegetables to a large bowl, and pour marinade over vegetables. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes.

Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Spread vegetables on pan, and roast at 350F for 40-50 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Add peas in the last 5 minutes of cooking to warm through.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Cranberries

No, I am not testing recipes for Thanksgiving side dishes, because the truth is that as much as I love to cook, the holiday isn’t at my house and I don’t do much (any) of the cooking. However, this weekend I was thinking about the cranberries in my refrigerator, and wondering if I could roast them. I had some butternut squash on hand too, so I decided to give this a try.

Please be warned – although roasting generally brings out sweetness, this dish is still quite tart. You might get a few ‘faces’ at the table if you serve this as a side dish, especially if they are expecting something similar to sweet cranberry sauce. So if you’re serving this on it’s own, I’d add another tablespoon of sugar.

I decided to toss the squash and cranberries over a spinach salad with white beans, with a balsamic vinaigrette. When all the flavors mixed together, it was just right. Not to mention, quite a pretty salad!

1 20 oz. package butternut squash, peeled and cut
2 c. cranberries, rinsed and drained
1 T canola oil
1 T brown sugar
1 t cinnamon

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl, and place in a 13″x9″ dish. Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes, or until squash is softened, stirring occasionally.

Maple Glazed Roasted Carrots

I was searching for a brightly colored and fall themed side dish to serve with the Coq Au Riesling, and these carrots fit both requirements. The carrots are tossed with olive oil on the stove, and then seasoned with maple syrup, salt, and pepper and finished in the oven. I cooked them longer than indicated in the original recipe, but I also cut them a little larger.

The carrots were tender and tasted great. These are not overly sweet because the small amount of maple syrup provides just a hint of flavor. A simple side dish for any fall meal!

Pesto Mushroom Pasta

Back when the days were a little longer and the basil plant was thriving, a big batch of pesto was made. The pesto was promptly frozen in the sections of an ice cube tray, to be used at a later time. I didn’t write down the proportions of ingredients, and I can’t find any photos from the event, but I remember a lot of chopped basil, some olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and Parmesan cheese thrown into the food processor. I was excited this week when I stumbled upon the cubes in my freezer and decided to defrost one for a pasta dish.

When the pesto was defrosted, it was still fairly thick, so I added a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice. Unfortunately the pesto flavor got a little lost here, because the mushrooms were so dominant. While it was good, next time I want to make sure I choose a recipe where the pesto will shine – I am thinking about a pizza!

1 10 oz. package mushrooms

1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained

1/2 c. orzo, cooked according to directions and drained

1 cube pesto

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Cook mushrooms in a large frying pan, until they are soft and release liquid. Add spinach, pasta, and pesto cube and stir until heated through. Add more olive oil and lemon juice if needed. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Kabocha

I have been reading about kabocha in so many places, and yet when I went to the produce market, it was no where to be found. But I picked up a green pumpkin shaped squash that looked similar, and was labeled “Abobora Japanese Squash”. A little Internet research revealed this article, which explains how the names evolved, and leads me to believe that indeed, I did buy a kabocha. Actually, I bought half of one, so I wouldn’t have to try to hack it open.

I decided to try this recipe for sweet and spicy roasted kabocha, and it was incredible. I used sugar, chili powder, cinnamon, and cumin, with a dash of salt, and it was a great blend of spices, topped off with a splash of soy sauce. Once the pieces were coated with this mixture, I drizzled them with canola oil, and roasted them in the oven at 400F. There’s no need to peel the squash, the skin was perfectly edible after cooking. This was a great recipe, and of course you can tweak the spices to your own taste. Make sure you put this on your list of recipes for the fall!

Unfried Green Tomatoes

When I saw this recipe for unfried green tomatoes, I was fascinated. (I told you I am meant to be Southern!) And then on my first visit to Wilson Farm last weekend, I saw a big basket of green tomatoes and remembered the recipe. So I just had to buy one and give it a try.

The recipe is fairly straightforward. You slice the tomatoes, dip them in milk, and then press them with a mixture of flour, cornmeal, salt, and pepper. They should be baked in a hot oven until they’re nice and brown. Here’s the raw tomato, and the breaded slices just before cooking.

My kitchen got awfully hot, but finally, the tomatoes were ready. They were excellent! The tomato slices stayed fairly firm, and the outsides were crispy. I didn’t have time to make the tomato gravy mentioned in the original recipe, so I used good ‘ol ketchup. Anything breaded and ‘unfried’ is generally a hit, but I would make these again, especially while tomatoes are in season.

Sweet Potato Fries

Is it really possible that I have never done a post about sweet potato fries? I guess I’ve been too busy writing about making fries from parsnips, butternut squash, and zucchini. Sweet potatoes really do make great fries though. I don’t have a tried and true technique, but if I am not too hungry, I soak the cut potatoes in water for 30 minutes, and then dry them off before tossing them with the oil. But feel free to skip that step if it’s already 7pm, and you need dinner faster.

1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into narrow pieces
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper (Red pepper for more kick!)

Toss the cut potatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes on a cookie sheet, or until crispy. Allow to cool for at least a few minutes prior to eating!

Swiss Chard

When a last minute meeting cancellation left me with a free hour on Tuesday, I strolled over to the farmer’s market near my office. I wanted to find something different for a simple veggie side dish, and settled on this large bunch of chard. First, I cleaned it well and then chopped the stems.

I took out a large frying pan and heated some olive oil, and then added minced garlic.

I added the stems to the pan, put the cover on, and cooked them on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.

Then, I stuffed the chopped leaves into the pan. It was a tight fit, but I finally managed to get the cover on. I cooked them on medium heat for 3-4 minutes, and then removed the cover and cooked them for another 3 minutes.

I added a splash of lemon juice and a dash of salt and pepper. The end result was two generous servings of fresh local swiss chard. The flavor is stronger than spinach, but milder than kale or collard greens. Give it a try!