Class Recap: Turnips and Parsnips and Rutabagas, Oh My!
In early October, City Market was lucky enough to welcome cookbook author Andrea Chesman back to lead another great class, Demystifying Root Vegetables. Andrea is on a crusade to resolve the bad rap given to root veggies. She believes that people are mistakenly under the impression that root vegetables are difficult to cook and/or cannot be delicious. Well, she certainly shed a new light on roots for me.
In fact, as I took the ingredients list to the Produce Department, I was unsure whether or not we carried Gilfeather turnip or celery root (celeriac). And I had never purchased rutabagas before. Fortunately, our Produce Department rocks and we had everything on the list, except salsify, which we apparently do carry from time to time.
As the class began, Andrea explained that her love of cooking and inspiration for writing her books, The Pickled Pantry, Serving up the Harvest and Recipes from the Root Cellar grew out of her love for gardening. She found that with the abundance of the veggies that she had grown, she needed new recipes to ensure that she would put her harvest to use. She knew there were others in the same boat (or tractor).
Andrea began by cutting raw slices of each root for participants to taste. There was a radish- like smell in the air as she chopped the turnip. Someone noted the earthy flavor of the beet. It was helpful for everyone to get this first impression of the raw roots before transforming them into several lovely dishes.
Each participant took responsibility for one of the recipes in this hands-on class. We found that roots really weren’t so difficult to prepare, after all. Within one hour we had an array of colorful dished to sample, so we headed for the dining area where the conversation continued.
The group enjoyed a root puree, roasted roots, shredded roots with ginger, and mac and cheese with roots, while discussing favorite recipes and gardening and cooking tips. Little did we know that the recipes we were eating had been tested in a kitchen that Robert Frost once dined in. He had lived across the street and dined in the house that Andrea now owns. Behind every great recipe is an even greater story!
If you missed Andrea’s class, fear not. She will be back to share Extending Your Winter Squash Repertoire on November 6th and Lentils in Many Languages on December 4th.