From chopping up a medley of veggies to hand-pulling canned tomatoes apart, this recipe is fun to make, especially when it’s chilly out.
You get to customize the dish based on which vegetables you fancy most, and even if you’re the worst slicer-dicer ever (like me), it doesn’t matter. The end result will be a warm, tasty ragoût-style creation, no matter how misshapen your root veggie chunks are.
I chose potatoes, parsnips, carrots and turnips as the main veggies in my rendition, and also subbed the original recipe’s use of kale for collard greens. However, any leafy green, including chard and kale, will do. The dish makes for a fine meatless entrée or side.
Roasted Root Veggies with Tomatoes and Collards
Serves 6 to 8; adapted from Simply Recipes
Ingredients
3 to 4 pounds of root vegetables (parsnips, rutabagas, carrots, potatoes, golden beets, turnips, celery root), cut into chunks
1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
2 cups (packed) leafy greens, chopped
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or dried oregano
Black pepper, to taste
Tabasco sauce, to taste (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Into a large roasting pan, mix together the vegetables, garlic and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Roast for 45 minutes, turning the vegetables over in the pan halfway through cooking.
Meanwhile, in a 4- to 5-quart Dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and sauté until the edges just begin to brown. Stir in the tomato paste, and cook a minute longer.
Using your hands, tear the canned tomatoes (warning: they squirt) into large pieces as you add them to the pot. Add the remaining liquid from the can into the pot. Stir well. Add the Italian seasoning. Bring to a simmer, then decrease the heat to the lowest setting. Cover the pot and let cook gently while the root vegetables are roasting.
When the vegetables are ready (they should be browned on the edges and easily pierced with a fork), remove from the oven. Add chopped leafy greens to the pot of tomatoes. Simmer until the greens are wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Season with Tabasco, to taste, if using.
