Sautéed Julienne Root Vegetables
Serves 6-8

Sauteed Winter Root Vegetables

This is a colorful, light alternative to scalloped sweet potato or candied yams. I know it’s not “traditional” for Thanksgiving and it could fly in the face of Uncle Fred’s favorite miniature marshmallow-topped casserole offering, but since I don’t know Uncle Fred I’m slipping it in.

Hint

This is a recipe that is much easier if you have a good slicing tool like a mandoline or an Asian cutting box. For the photo I used a hand held truffle slicer that I use a lot for shaving Parmesan cheese. It is a ¼” julienne cut, not the shred cut for raw vegetables in Asian recipes. If you do not have a reliable slicer, sharpen your chef’s knife and work carefully. Cutting 10 vegetables by hand might take 30 – 35 minutes but it’s worth the time because all the vegetables cook through in a few minutes. Cut and wrapped tightly in plastic wrap (separate the strong flavored onion from the others), they will hold well for 24 hours before cooking.

Ingredients

1 large yellow onion, peeled, sliced and cut into thin strips
1 sweet potato, peeled and julienne cut
1 yam, peeled and julienne cut
2 turnips, peeled and julienne cut
2 parsnips, peeled and julienne cut
3 medium carrots, peeled and julienne cut
1 rutabaga, peeled and julienne cut
1 small celery root (celeriac) peeled and julienne cut
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tbs. dried thyme leaves or 3 tbs. fresh thyme leaves
2 tbs. fresh lemon juice
Salt to taste

Procedure

1. Mix all cut vegetables in a bowl. Add 2 tbs. parsley and the thyme and toss to mix.
2. Put oil in large skillet over medium heat. When it is hot but not smoking, add vegetable mixture and toss gently with tongs. Keep vegetables moving gently for up to 8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender but not soft (al dente). Gently mix remaining parsley with the vegetables.
3. Sprinkle lemon juice over the vegetables and toss. Salt to taste, transfer to a warmed serving dish and serve immediately.

Editor’s note: Winter squash can be used in place of the root vegetables for this recipe. See Winter Squash Alert 2011.