root vegetables | Bewitching Kitchen

One of the tastiest and most unusual recipes I’ve made in the recent past, we loved it so much! This would be perfect as a side dish for the holidays, or as a hearty main dish for vegetarians. The idea came from Geoffrey Zakarian in FoodTv’s The Kitchen, and I just knew I had to make it. I modified it to lower the amount of fat but will give you the original version and you can do as you please. My modifications are listed in the comments.

ROOT VEGETABLE CLAFOUTIS
(from Geoffrey Zakarian )

2 carrots, diced small
2 parsnips, peeled and diced small
2 small turnips, peeled and diced small
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced small
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt
5 sprigs fresh rosemary
12 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
2 cups diced Honeycrisp apple
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Add the carrots, parsnips and turnips to one baking sheet. Add the sweet potatoes to a separate baking sheet. Drizzle each with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Add 2 sprigs of rosemary and 5 sprigs of thyme to each baking sheet. Roast about 30 minutes, rotating the sheets and tossing the vegetables about halfway through.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a 10-inch cast-iron or other oven-safe sauté pan. Add the shallots, sage and some salt, and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the apples and a pinch of salt and cook until the apples are softened but still have some bite, an additional 4 minutes.

Once the vegetables are done roasting, combine them in the sauté pan with the shallot-apple mixture. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

Remove the leaves of the remaining sprig rosemary and 2 sprigs thyme and chop. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, eggs, half-and-half, rosemary and thyme, 1/4 cup Parmesan and some salt. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the vegetables. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top. Bake until golden and set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes, then serve immediately or at room temperature.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: My modifications were quite a few. I could not find turnips at the store, so I used double amount of parsnips and one extra sweet potato. I omitted the shallots and used diced celery instead (food sensitivities at play). Veggies were sautéed in olive oil instead of butter. I did not bother removing all the leaves from the stalks of rosemary and thyme, added some Herbes de Provence instead. And, finally I used half the amount of half-and-half and completed the volume with cashew milk. Next time I might try to go for cashew milk only and see what happens, but overall I think the amount of fat is not excessive. Do not omit the apples, they really make the dish shine. This savory clafoutis is absolutely delicious, and it will become part of our rotation for special meals. Leftovers kept super well, with a brief encounter with the microwave. But it is even nice at room temperature.

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This recipe, from a recent compilation in Fine Cooking called “One Pot Meals”, went from the page to a pot in the blink of an eye. It called for all kinds of goodies that I love: chicken, root veggies, pomegranate and the perfect spices to tie them together. The glaze roasted into a sexy ruby color, and the skin of the chicken will make anyone smile. So, why is it a work in progress, you might ask? Read on….

ORANGE POMEGRANATE CHICKEN
(adapted from Fine Cooking magazine)

1 large orange, zested and juiced
1 cup pomegranate juice
1-1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
Freshly ground black pepper
6 tsp. olive oil
Kosher salt
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium parsnips, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 leeks, white part only, cut in 1/4 inch slices
4-lb. chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Heat the oven to 400°F.

In a medium saucepan, Combine the orange juice and pomegranate juice in a saucepan, bring to a boil and reduce it to 1/4 cup (about 20 minutes). Add half of the thyme (eye balling is fine), all the cinnamon, and black pepper (about 1/4 tsp or according to your taste). Divide the mixture between two small bowls. To one bowl add 2 tsp. of the oil and 1/2 tsp. salt. To the other add the chicken broth, all but 1 tsp. of the orange zest, and 1/4 tsp. salt.

Scatter the sweet potatoes, parsnips, and leeks over the bottom of a dish that measures about 10 x 15 x 2 inches. Toss with the remaining 4 tsp. of oil and the rest of the thyme. Arrange the chicken pieces, skin side up, on top of the vegetables and brush with all of the juice-oil mixture. Roast for 30 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375°F. Pour the reduced pomegranate-chicken broth mixture around the chicken pieces and scatter the walnuts around them. Return the pan to the oven and roast until the vegetables are tender and an instant-read thermometer registers 165°F in several pieces of chicken, 20 to 30 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a serving dish. Remove the veggies and walnuts with a slotted spoon, season them lightly with salt, sprinkle the remaining orange zest all over the meat and veggies. Pour the liquid from the roasting pan in a pyrex type container, remove as much fat as possible. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper and pour into a pitcher to serve with the food.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Make sure you use pure pomegranate juice (yes, it is expensive compared to blends, but worth it in this case, because you will concentrate it quite a bit). I’d love to give this recipe two thumbs all the way up, but it had some problems. Many of the pieces of sweet potatoes and parsnips were not completely cooked: their centers were still hard. I tested some with a fork before removing from the oven, but as Murphy’s Law would have it, those were perfect… (sigh). Next time I’ll cover the dish with foil during the first 30 minutes, then pour the liquid all over it and roast it uncovered, perhaps adding a little more water if the veggies dry up during the final roasting. I suspect that with this minor change it will be a winner.

One pot meals are such life-savers for a busy cook, and this recipe, apart from reducing the pomegranate/orange juice, doesn’t require much work. Even better, the reduction could be made a couple of days in advance. With a nice loaf of bread or a green salad, dinner is ready!

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