Generations ago, people cooked meals on hearths and bread in ovens, and the two functions often happened in different parts of the house. Ovens and stoves eventually began to coexist in the kitchen, but roasting foods in an oven wasn’t common practice until relatively recently. Though we’ve been eating root vegetables for centuries, you could say roasting them is a new tradition.
Makes four servings | Prep time 20 minutes | Cook time 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
- 1/2 lb. parsnips, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
- 3 tbs. duck fat, lard, or olive oil
- 1 lb. Brussels sprouts, sliced in half lengthwise, bottoms removed
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tbs. chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste (about 1/4 tsp. each)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Place the carrots and parsnips in a pot of salted water; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-high, and boil until they start to turn tender, about three minutes. (This is called parboiling and will help ensure the root vegetables finish roasting at the same time as the Brussels sprouts.) Drain and set aside.
- Place a seasoned cast-iron skillet in the oven until just smoking, about two minutes. (Heating the pan before adding the vegetables will speed up the cooking process.) Add the cooking fat, the Brussels sprouts, and the parboiled carrots and parsnips to the skillet; stir to combine.
- Roast until the vegetables are tender and crisp, about 20 minutes, stirring every five minutes. Remove from the oven, add the lemon zest, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
Tip: Feel free to swap out the carrots and parsnips for other root vegetables, like turnips or beets.
Why No Numbers? Readers sometimes ask us why we don’t publish nutrition information with our recipes. We believe that (barring specific medical advice to the contrary) if you’re eating primarily whole, healthy foods — an array of sustainably raised vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, meats, fish, eggs, whole-kernel grains, and healthy fats and oils — you probably don’t need to stress about the numbers. We prefer to focus on food quality and trust our bodies to tell us what we need. — The Editors
This originally appeared in “Hearty Traditions” in the December 2017 issue of Experience Life.
