Roasted Vegetables with Walnut Gremolata, a la Bonnie

As most of us vegetable fiends already know, roasted veggies are amazing. However, when you top them with this delicious walnut-lemon zest-parsley-parmesan paste, the amazingness gets upped significantly! Also, the leftovers are fabulous served cold. Adapted from epicurious.com.

4 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-inch rectangles
4 parsnips, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise
2 medium turnips, peeled, halved, cut into 1-inch-thick wedges
1 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
About 4 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
zest of one lemon
1 small garlic clove

Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss carrots, parsnips, turnips, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower in a large bowl with 3 tablespoons oil, or however much you need to make them slightly shiny. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet (or to multiple baking sheets, as it's best if all your veggies have at least one side touching the pan); sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until vegetables are tender, shaking the pan every 15 minutes so they don't stick. It'll be about 1 hour. Basically, you want them to be soft, and for at least one side of each veggie to be browned - that means that they'll be sweet and delicious.

Now, for the gremolata! Pile the walnuts, parmesan, parsley, garlic, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and lemon zest into the food processor. Add some fresh pepper. Process for just a few seconds, until everything is coarsely ground together. The paste should be fairly dry; if it's wet, add some more walnuts.

Drizzle vegetables with remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice and toss. Sprinkle gremolata over vegetables just before serving.

Baby Turnip and Avocado Salad

A note on turnips: check out the selection of fresh turnips from your local farmer's market and choose the small ones - they will be unbelievably sweet and tender! They are wonderful eaten raw on their own, dipped in hummus, or in this lovely simple salad.

Also, if you're not familiar with dulse, now's the time to acquaint yourself with this delicious, chewy sea vegetable. It's super tasty...and a great source of veggie protein, iron, potassium, and bunches of other trace elements, enzymes and phytochemicals. You can buy it as whole leaves (in which case, you really ought to eat it lightly toasted with melted chedder cheese on top...my favorite elementary school after-school snack) or as flakes - perfect for topping soups and salads.



6-8 baby turnips, tops removed, chopped
1 avocado, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 TBSP dulse flakes
2 TBSP parsley, chopped
1/4 C rice vinegar
3 TBSP olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, gently toss together all ingredients. Serve immediately. Yum yum!

Simple Roasted Root Veggies

Oh so easy to do, and definitely one of the best things about autumn. Use any of the fabulous fresh root veggies you find at your local farmers market.

Sweet potatoes
Turnips
Parsnips
Carrots
Beets

Olive oil
Lots of garlic, minced
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Allspice
Salt
Pepper

Chop all the veggies you want to roast to approximately the same size pieces. Big chunks are beautiful but keep in mind, smaller pieces will roast much faster. Combine all in a large glass baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and minced garlic. Now sprinkle on all the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt and pepper that you like. Stir well until all veggies are coated. Roast in a 450 degree oven for 40 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your pieces. Check for tenderness at regular intervals to determine doneness. Your veggies should be tender on the inside but glazed and maybe a tad crunchy on the outside.

Winter Veggie Soup

(Swiped from Epicurious.com -- with a few revisions)

3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 cup peeled, cored and coarsely chopped Granny Smith apple
1 cup peeled and coarsely chopped turnip
1 cup peeled and chopped butternut squash (seeds discarded)
1 cup coarsely chopped carrot
1 cup peeled, chopped sweet potato
5 cups vegetable stock
2 Tb maple syrup
Cayenne pepper
1 small whole-grain baguette
goat cheese

Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add apple, turnip, squash, carrot, and sweet potato; season with salt, then sauté 5 minutes. Add stock, bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add syrup, then cayenne pepper to taste. Cool slightly. Puree with a handheld mixer, food processor or blender.

Then: you can do two things. Either slice up the bread, toast it, spread goat cheese on it, and then float it in the soup; or, to add a yummy little kick to the soup, stir the goat cheese right in.