It`s winter time in New Zealand, days and nights have become chilly. Winter is a perfect time to explore the local beautiful and hearty root crops. Crispy swede, sweet kumara, lemony oca, aromatic fennel, nutty parsnip and many types of potato, all of them and even more you can find in the local veggie shop. I like to combine all these wonderful vegetables in the one roast. Sweet, sour and perfumed, they do the perfect veggie dish.
The secret of delicious veggie roast is the generous amount of fat that covers the surface of vegetables and prevents evaporation of moisture. I recommend using a good quality high point cooking oil as grapeseed oil. You might have heard that grapeseed oil is healthy because it contains unsaturated fats, in addition to small amounts of vitamins like vitamin E. Grapeseed oil has been tied to lower cholesterol levels, improved heart health, and certain other health benefits.
I like to serve this wonderful vegetable roast with a beetroot sauerkraut salad that is so easy and delicious. Sauerkraut and a few simple ingredients – orange, sweet crispy apple, fennel, some cranberries – and it’s ready! I added also Oxalis Tuberosa tubers, this is optional. This gorgeous vegetable is not easy to find outside of New Zealand.
Add some purple love to your salad with this delicious Heart Beetkraut from Living Goodness. Beetroot sauerkraut is the perfect condiment for any meal, especially for hearty winter roast and potato dishes. Rich in live probiotics and vitamins this raw cabbage and beetroot is fermented for a tangy sweetness that will only leave you wanting more.
Oca (pretty little red tubers) also known as New Zealand yam have a slightly tangy lemon taste. The flesh is firm but juicy and crisp when eaten raw or lightly cooked, and becoming more starchy if fully cooked. The tubers don’t require peeling when eating the oca raw – just wash them clean, and they can be sliced to add a hint of a lemony zest to salads. Oca is one of the highest vegetable sources of carbohydrate and energy. They are a good source of pro-vitamin A (beta-carotene), also contain potassium and vitamin B6.
Ingredients
For Vegetable Roast:3-4 Serves
- 1 Medium size Swede, peeled
- 2 Parsnips, peeled
- 1 Carrot, peeled
- About 700g (about 1,5 lbs) White and red baby potato (type of potato suitable for roasting), scrubbed
- 3 Medium size Kumara or sweet potato, scrubbed
- Fennel bulb, roughly sliced
- Big handful small tubers of oca (New Zealand yams), approx. 250g, scrubbed
- 2 Celery stalks, roughly sliced
- 2 Garlic bulbs, cut horizontally in half
- Handful of shallots, peeled
- Small bunch of fresh thyme and rosemary
- 2 Bay leaves
- 3 Tbsp high point cooking oil as grapeseed oil, canola oil, sunflower oil or ghee butter (I used grapeseed oil)
- Sea salt
- Ground black pepper
For Citrus Sauerkraut Salad:
- 1 Big bulb of fennel, shaved
- Big handful small tubers of oca (New Zealand yams), thinly sliced
- 1/2 Cup of Heart Beet Kraut from Living Goodness
- 1 Sweet and crispy apple (I use Pacific Rose apples)
- Peeled segments of one orange (or two mandarins)
- Handful of fresh or dried cranberries
- Fennel leaves for garnish
For salad dressing:
- Juice of half orange
- 1Tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbs apple syrup (or maple syrup)
- Sea salt
Directions
- For Vegetable Roast. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
- Cut parsnips, carrot, swede, and kumara into big pieces about 3 cm size. Rinse and dry the unpeeled new potatoes and cut into halves.
- Combine all vegetables except garlic in the big bowl, drizzle with oil, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, add bay leaves, thyme and rosemary leaves. Toss to coat.
- Tip the vegetables into the tray. Spread them out evenly into one layer – this is important, as you want them to roast, not steam as they will if you have them all on top of each other. Place garlic halves on the side, season it and brush with oil.
- Roast vegetables stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden and crisp, then serve immediately with delicious sauerkraut salad.
- For salad.Using either a vegetable peeler or mandoline, shave finely fennel. Thinly slice into rounds washed tubers of oca. Combine all ingredients in the salad bowl. For salad dressing combine all ingredients in the mixing bowl and mix well using a whisk. Pour over salad. Sprinkle salad with halved cranberries. Mix it all up and serve with a warm vegetable roast. Enjoy!
