Ways to Make Fall Vegetables More Exciting

Ways to Make Fall Vegetables More Exciting

Chef Tony Maws of Boston on Unexpected Treatments for Underappreciated Root Vegetables

By Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan in the Wall Street Journal

It’s natural to turn to root vegetables as temperatures drop in fall. “You want something hearty, and that’s what’s fantastic about them,” says Tony Maws, chef and proprietor of Boston-area restaurants Craigie on Main in Cambridge and the Kirkland Tap & Trotter in Somerville.

The one thing root vegetables often aren’t, though, is exciting. Many home cooks tend to resort to the predictable way of roasting them. Mr. Maws believes in playing up their strengths through a variety of treatments. “Once the frost hits, the root vegetables that are still in the ground start turning into sugar. They get amazingly naturally sweet; it’s how the plant survives,” he says. “So it’s got this great texture but also a great versatility.”

Carrots are one of Mr. Maws’s favorites, though he enjoys seeking out unusual shades. Yellow kimbe carrots are “sweet but have a little bit of a brighter carrot flavor,” he says. They go “great with things like coriander, herbs and ginger.” He likes to use them to make a carrot soup with onions and curry spices.

Mr. Maws at the Kirkland Tap & Trotter in Somerville, Mass. Michael Piazza for The Wall Street Journal

Clockwise from top left: leek, celery root, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, lemon, Za’atar spice and tahini. Michael Piazza for The Wall Street Journal

To tease out the sugar in beets, roast them, peel them and then “put them in a food processor with the same ingredients you’d use for a regular hummus—tahini, lemon, garlic but maybe also a bit of pomegranate molasses,” Mr. Maws says. (With pumpkin hummus, he likes to add a splash of a Middle Eastern syrup that he says is “like a date molasses.”)

Turnips can be turned into refreshing salads, he says. “I love kohlrabi, which is in the turnip family,” he says. “It’s got a very clean but nice mustardy flavor to it. You can grate it and have it as a raw slaw. It’s a simple salad that’s fresh and bright.”

Mr. Maws likes to use root vegetables as main ingredients in entrees as well. “I make them a lot in cassoulets,” he says. Often, he takes the root vegetables he wants to use up, peels them and cooks them with dried cranberries, raisins and spices in a pressure cooker. “It’s a great stew—you’re really just trying to cajole the flavors out of these different vegetables and have them mingle together,” he says. For some protein, Mr. Maws suggests adding braised monkfish or swordfish right before serving.

Some vegetables are so well-known for what grows above ground that the root beneath is underappreciated, Mr. Maws says. Parsley root, for example, “has a very nuanced, starchy parsley flavor. It’s very clean, it’s not overwhelming,” he says. He likes to use it to make an unusual side in the style of roasted or mashed potatoes. “As much as I love mashed potatoes, they can get a little dull. This keeps your mouth alive.”

“Celery root is not as appreciated as it could be,” Mr. Maws adds. “A purée of celery root with some butter and olive oil is terrific. Just brown a little bit of butter and fold that into mashed celery root and serve it with roast chicken and some chicken juice.”

Summer vegetables, with their buoyant bursts of flavor, don’t require much help, unlike their cold-weather compatriots. “Nothing is worse than underseasoned mashed potatoes or parsnip purée,” he says. He often turns to roasted shallots, garlic or French vadouvan, a curry blend with a slightly sweet and smoky quality, to raise the flavor profile of a root-vegetable dish.

“Miso and butter together on a sweet potato, that’s one of my favorite snacks,” Mr. Maws says. Miso adds instant zing to any root vegetable, he adds.

For a striking finish, he sometimes works root vegetables into desserts. “Instead of a carrot cake, we make a parsnip cake, which is really good. Parsnips have that sweet minerality to them, and that goes great with cream-cheese frosting,” he says. Beet ice-cream is another favorite. “That rich red, the hint of iodine with the creamy and sweet makes things just a little bit different.”

Mr. Maws cautions cooks to pay attention to proper storage. “Root vegetables kept in a cellar will be very different than ones kept in your fridge,” he says. “In a refrigerator they lose moisture, flavor and texture and get very flabby. Keep them outside the fridge.”

Celery Root Hummus with Za’atar

1 whole celery root, peeled and cubed into 1-inch cubes

1 whole leek, sliced into rings and rinsed

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

3 tbsp tahini

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon

2 tbsp. za’atar spice mix

kosher salt

Reserve ½ cup of the olive oil and set aside. Toss the celery root in a bowl with some olive oil, za’atar [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Za%27atar], half of the garlic and salt. Repeat in another bowl with leeks,

Place celery root on separate sheet trays and roast in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven until tender and lightly browned.

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Add a bit of water if you’re having a tough time puréeing the celery root. Adjust seasoning and chill.

Persian Root Vegetable Stew

2 cups yellow beets, peeled diced large

2 cups Chioggia beets, peeled and diced large

2 cups turnips, peeled and diced large

1 Spanish onion, diced medium

2 yellow kimbe carrots, peeled and cut into thin circles

2 chantenay carrots, peeled and cut into thin circles

½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut in half

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. ginger, minced

1/8 tsp. cumin, toasted and ground

1/8 tsp. coriander, toasted and ground

1/8 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. sweet paprika

1 tbsp. curry powder

Small pinch saffron

Bouquet dill, cilantro, parsley

½ cup of extra-virgin olive oil

(NOTE: You may also use parsnips, parsley root, celery root and rutabaga in this recipe. In other words, whatever root vegetables you have on hand.)

Heat a large pot or enameled Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add olive oil and sweat onion out with salt and bouquet. Add in ginger and garlic, sweat out, add spices and toast.

Add in tomatoes, carrots, turnips and beets. Cover with water, season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer.

Cook until the vegetables are just tender (about 30 minutes). Cool down on stove top and put in fridge, or serve it right away.