The loveFOOD guide to... root vegetables


Updated on 07 May 2015 | 0 Comments

Carrots, parsnips, and other underground wonders... here’s our guide to getting back to your roots.

Carrots

Great all year round, though at their sweetest in summertime. 95% of carrots eaten in the UK are grown on home soil, and thanks to modern techniques carrots are available 11 months of the year. Prior to this they were mainly a summer crop. Keep an eye out for some of the heritage varieties that are now available, as they come in a range of interesting colours. 

Stella McCartney's carrot cake recipe 

Parsnips

A vegetable practically unknown to the French, who think it's fit only for feeding pigs - the fools. Best covered in a little oil and roasted, this allows their natural sweetness to come to the fore. They’re also great made into chips, as well as blitzed in soups.

Sausage, parsnip and onion roast recipe 

Celeriac

An ugly-looking root to be sure, but it more than makes up for it when peeled and finely sliced. It can be used in a gratin, or even better shredded into matchsticks and dressed in olive oil to make a remoulade, served with smoked salmon.

Smoked salmon with celeriac and homemade bread recipe

Swede

Short for ‘Swedish turnip’, the swede came about as a cross between a cabbage and a turnip. Americans call it a 'rutabaga'. It's best boiled and mashed with loads of butter and black pepper, but can also be used in veggie stews and casseroles, as it can take slow cooking. 

Hearty leek and lamb cawl recipe

Sweet potato

A tasty earthy tuber with a sweet taste, hence it’s name. Mashed it’s loved by children, but it can be sliced and roasted like parsnips. You can even roast them whole, then scoop out the middle like jacket potatoes and add more fillings. 
Cod fingers with mushy peas and roasted sweet potatoes recipe

Beetroot

The big purple one. Often gets paired with poor quality vinegar, but has so much more to offer. Buy fresh, and scrub the skin off (do this in the sink, as it'll make a mess!) before roasting in chunks.
Beetroot tarte tatin recipe

 

More root vegetable articles and recipes

Anthea Turner's fruits of the earth medley recipe

Cumberland sausages with roasted root vegetables recipe

Top ten 'five a day' recipes

The cheapest ways to your five a day

Why Indian food is very veggie

Top five restaurants which grow their own

Slow-braised lamb with sweet potato mash recipe


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