Root Veggie Renaissance

Date: 03.03.2010 | Category: Real Food

by FarmPlate

In case you haven’t noticed, root vegetables are staging a real comeback, at least in Vermont’s top restaurants and home kitchens. Beet salads are everywhere, and the Roasted Beet Salad with Warm Vermont Goat Cheese at the Kitchen Table Bistro is especially good. Hen of the Wood features a wide variety of roots on their menu (which changes daily to complement the season). Diners can dig into rutabaga, celeriac or carrot offerings at the Inn at Weathersfield. Root veggies are even turning up on pizzas. “You name it, we use it,” says Tracy of American Flatbread’s Burlington Hearth.  “It’s that time of year.”

This root veggie renaissance could be due in part to the efforts of Pete Johnson of Pete’s Greens along with other forward-thinking Vermont vegetable growers. Instead of being woody, bitter or virtually tasteless, locally grown root vegetables are firm, sweet and practically shouting with flavor.

Root vegetables star in the easy, one-pot recipe below.

Slow-Cooked Pork & Root Vegetables with Orange
from the FarmPlate Kitchen
If you’ve never prepared celeriac before, don’t be intimidated by its knobby, gnarly exterior — there’s a mild, even sweet, lovely vegetable on the inside.  Use a sharp knife to peel. If you think this is going to take awhile, drop the chunks of celeriac into a bowl of cold water with a slice of lemon as you work to keep the celeriac from turning brown.

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large celeriac (celery root), peeled and cut into wedges
2 medium red onions, cut into wedges
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 small turnips, peeled and cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1½ cups white wine or amber ale
1 cup chicken stock
1 orange, juiced and a 3-inch strip of zest cut from the peel
1 tablespoon soy sauce
A big fresh rosemary sprig
Crusty Red Hen bread for serving

Preheat the oven to 325ºF.

Over medium-high, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy flameproof casserole with a lid. Season the pork with salt and pepper and brown it, in batches if necessary. Transfer to a plate. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan. Add the celeriac, onions, carrots and turnips and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until the vegetables begin to brown. Stir in the garlic and cook for a few seconds more.

Add the pork and any juices to the vegetables, then pour in the wine or beer, stock, orange juice and soy sauce. Add the orange zest, rosemary sprig and a generous grinding of black pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer.

Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook for 1½ to 2 hours, stirring after an hour or so. Add more liquid if necessary. The pork and vegetables should be very tender. Let stand for a few minutes before serving, then ladle into shallow bowls. Serve with crusty bread to soak up the fragrant juices.

This one-pot meal reheats well.

Serves 6 to 8

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