GNARLY VEGETABLES

Parsnips and other lumpen vegetables. Clockwise from top left, chayote, rutabaga, spaghetti squash, kohlrabi and parsnips.

I have a thing about parsnips. I used to pack them in my luggage when returning from a trip to the U.S. That was before they turned up in local markets. I love parsnips pan-roasted alongside a chicken or mashed with olive oil.   

I also quite like other knobbly, gnarly, lumpen vegetables such as rutabaga, kohlrabi, celeriac and chayote. Except for chayote, none of these uglies were grown in southern Spain. Now, the European common market brings all sorts of “exotic”  produce even to my small village.

Except for their lumpy shapes, these vegetables are not related. However, they are all good either raw or cooked. They all somewhat resemble potatoes—although with a much lower carb count. They all are improved with lashings of olive oil or butter, bacon or cream.

Celeriac or celery root (apio-nabo) is the beauty of the bunch. This vegetable (Apium graveolens) has a pronounced celery flavour, but without the stringy fibres of celery stalks. It's crisp and crunchy when raw (shredded with remoulade sauce for a classic French bistro salad) or wonderfully smooth and creamy when pureed, as in celery root soup. I love it diced in any vegetable soup.

Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea). In Spanish, this is colinabo. But, so little is it known in Spain that the nomenclature is often confused with that of the rutabaga. Kohlrabi is a cultivar of wild cabbage. In spite of its appearance, it is not a root, but the thickened stem of a "broccoli" plant (sort of). I like it, thinly sliced, in stir-fry dishes, a crisp substitute for water chestnuts.  

Chayote (Sechium edule) is a member of the cucurbitacea family that includes cucumbers, squash and melon. In Spanish markets I knew it as papa del moro, or "Moorish potato," a misleading name, as the vegetable was unknown in Spain in Moorish times. It comes from the New World. It's also know as patata voladora, or "flying potato," as it swings from climbing vines. It has a remarkable similarity to potatoes (but is very low carb). I used it in a gratin dish with cheese and, grated with potato, for latkes (potato pancakes) made with chickpea flour and Indian spices.

Rutabaga (Brassica napobrassica) looks like a giant turnip. It's actually a cross between the turnip and cabbage families. The name comes from the Swedish word for "lumpy root." Rutabaga is also known as "Swede" and "neep." In Spanish it is nabo sueco. Rutabaga is a good substitute for potatoes (or, thanks to its yellow color, for sweet potatoes). It's milder than turnips in flavour, earthy and slightly sweet. 

Parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) are related to carrots (chirivìas in Spanish).  They are decidedly sweet, delicious roasted or pureed.

Rutabaga and Potato Mash
Nabo Sueco con Patatas

Rutabaga mashed with potatoes and garlic makes a fine side dish with sausages and black-eyed peas.

In this recipe you could use any of the featured vegetables in place of rutabaga—parsnips, chayote, kohlrabi or celeriac. If a whole head of garlic seems excessive, use just two cloves, cooked and mashed with the vegetables.

Rutabaga needs long cooking to render it soft enough to mash, so start it before the potatoes. 

Serves 6.

¾ pound rutabaga
¾ pound potatoes
1 small head of garlic
1/3 cup cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Rutabaga is pale yellow.

Peel the rutabaga and cut in 1 ½ -inch cubes. Peel potatoes and cut them in half. Slice the top off the head of garlic. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rutabaga and cook for 20 minutes. Add the potatoes and garlic to the pot and cook until they are tender when pierced with a skewer, 20 minutes. Drain the vegetables, reserving about ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Separate the head of garlic.

Mash potatoes and rutabaga.

Add the cream cheese and oil to the drained vegetables. Mash them with a potato masher or put through a ricer. Add enough of the reserved cooking liquid to make a smooth mixture. 

Squeeze the cloves of garlic out of their skins. Mash them in a small bowl, then blend into the vegetables along with pimentón, salt and pepper. 

Serve immediately or place in a lightly oiled casserole and reheat in a medium oven.

Mashed rutabaga and potatoes.

Mashed rutabaga and potatoes with chorizo criollo and black-eyed peas.

Go ahead, mix it all together!

More recipes for gnarly veggies:

Savory Parsnip Upside-Down Cake.

Vegetable Chips.
Roasted Root Vegetables.
Crushed Parsnips with Wild Boar.

Chayote cookbook (in Spanish). https://inta.gob.ar/sites/default/files/script-tmp-inta-_papa_del_aire_2015_-_paran.pdf

CHIPS AND DIP

When I shop at a big hipermercado down on the Coast, I'm on the lookout for foods and products that I don’t normally find in the village market—kale and quail, venison and violet potatoes. In the snack section, I discovered vegetable chips cooked with olive oil. I always grab a bag of them, to nosh on the drive home. 

The chips are made with beets, carrots, parsnips and purple potatoes. Something about the salty-sweetness of those vegetables makes them addictive. But the little pack is expensive. Why not make these chips at home? They’re perfect with a party dip.

Crispy vegetable chips with a creamy goat cheese dip.

Snack-pack of veggie chips from the hypermarket.

Because potato chips are fried, I supposed that beet and parsnip chips were fried too. I sliced my vegetables paper-thin (by hand, as I don’t have a mandoline) and heated a pan of olive oil. I fried each vegetable (beets, carrots, parsnips, purple potatoes and rutabaga) separately until golden, then drained the chips on a rack.

Fail! They were not crisp. The next day I spread them on a baking sheet and baked them in the oven (300ºF/10 minutes). This crisped the chips a lot. Still, why bother frying if baking does the trick?

Back to the drawing board. Happy to report, my baked chips with olive oil and sea salt turned out great.

Crispy, baked beet chips. They're sweet and salty, with a hint of olive oil. 

Headed for the chipper! Clockwise from upper left, rutabaga (nabo sueco or "Swede"), beets (remolachas), carrots (zanahorias), purple potatoes (patatas violetas) and parsnips (chirivías). Also good for making chips are taro, plantain, sweet potatoes, turnips.

If you don't have a mandoline slicer, use a vegetable peeler to shave thin strips from parsnips and carrots. 

Cut a slice off one side of the vegetable so it has a firm base on the cutting board. Aim for "paper thin"--1/16 inch. Shown are purple potatoes. Aren't they pretty?

A serrated knife works well for slicing beets, potatoes and rutabaga. 

Place each batch of sliced vegetables separately in a bowl and toss them with enough olive oil to coat them. Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place in preheated oven (325ºF with turbo/fan or 350ºF without fan). Bake 5 minutes and flip the slices over. Continue baking until they are golden and crisped. Time varies with each vegetable. Parsnip chips baked 12 minutes total; beets baked 20 minutes total. Expect the vegetable chips to shrink quite a lot in baking.

Baked chips can be stored in an air-tight container for up to two days. If necessary to crisp them up before serving, spread them on a baking sheet and place in preheated oven at 250ºF for 5-10 minutes.

Chip Dip

Salsa para Hortalizas Curruscantes

Chip dip is made with fresh goat cheese, seasoned with smoked pimentón

This dip starts with fresh, soft goat’s cheese (queso fresco de cabra). If not available use a log of French chêvre, Greek feta or Mexican soft cotija. Taste the dip before seasoning with salt, as the substitute cheeses may be saltier than Spanish queso fresco. Pimentón de la Vera--smoked paprika, either sweet or hot--is the main flavouring. Frying whole cloves of garlic gives them a mellow flavour.

Fresh, soft goat cheese.

6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
Oil for frying
½ cup soft goat cheese or queso fresco
¼ cup Greek yogurt
½ teaspoon hot pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika)
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Sherry vinegar

Whole, fried cloves of garlic.

Lightly crush the cloves of garlic, just sufficiently to split the skins. Heat the oil in small skillet and fry the cloves of garlic until golden. Remove. When they are cool, slip off the skins.

Place the skinned garlic in a mini food processor with the cheese, yogurt, pimentón, cumin, salt and vinegar. Blend to make a smooth dip.

The dip keeps, covered and refrigerated, up to 5 days.



I´m thinking I'll buy myself a mandoline for Christmas and make a batch of vegetable chips every time I turn on the oven.



More recipes with beets:
Waldorf Salad with Beets.
Roasted Beet Salad with Grapefruit.
Moroccan Beet Salad.

More recipes with parsnips:
Savory Parsnip Upside-Down Cake.
Roasted Root Vegetables with Quince.

A FESTIVE VEGETARIAN TORTA

A bouquet of mums from my garden to take to a friend's house.

The vegetarian “roast,” still hot from the oven, was ready for its “beauty shot” before being carried to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. The gravy was ready. Pumpkin dessert defrosted (that recipe in last week’s blog). I packed a container of blue cheese schmear to go with endive leaves, a jar of garlicky, brine-cured olives and cranberry sauce sweetened with stevia (a visiting American brought me fresh cranberries). I bagged a bouquet of multi-colored chrysanthemums and a tablecloth.

I just had to whip the cream and I would be good to go.

But, you know how it is on Thanksgiving. Something always goes awry and a-whack. The cream whooshed up out of the blender container, splattering me, the walls, the counter-top and the floor. After clean-up, I hurriedly nestled the hot cazuela in a carry-crate, just as my ride arrived. (I’m not driving, as I had cataract surgery a couple days ago.) I forgot to take the photo. I forgot to take the camera with me.

“It looks like pineapple upside-down-cake,” said one dinner guest, as I placed the “roast” in the center of the table. In fact, it was a parsnip upside-down cake, gluten-free and dairy-free, consisting of brown rice, tofu, mushrooms, pistachios and seasonings, bound together with eggs (vegetarian, not vegan).

The remains of my grand upside-down parsnip cake with rice, mushrooms and tofu. It has a dribble of pomegranate molasses on top and a garnish of pomegranate seeds. (Thanks to Jesse Gordon for the photo.)

My “cake” started out to be a rice-nut loaf or a sage “stuffing,” with rice in place of bread. But a recipe in New York Times Cooking for a festive Thanksgiving torte inspired me to bake the mix in a springform pan and flip it out on a platter. (See that recipe here.)

I made up the recipe, tasting as I toasted, sautéed, mixed and seasoned. So, too, can you make variations to suit yourself.

I happened to have some sweet, black fermented garlic, so used it for drama (black accent) and umami kick. You could use truffles (!) or black olives. I used raisins, but dried cranberries would be lovely; or walnuts in place of pistachios. Go for Middle Eastern flavors instead of Midwestern, with chopped dill instead of parsley, with a pinch of cinnamon and cardamom instead of sage and thyme.

You could also skip the upside-down part—omit the parsnips and bake the rice mixture in a loaf pan. Or, omit the eggs and make a loose stuffing to serve alongside a roast bird. The baked rice with vegetables would also be a fine vehicle for leftover turkey—just substitute diced turkey for the tofu.

You could also add a filling to the rice, such as strips of piquillo pepper, hard-boiled eggs or sliced cheese. Spread half of the rice mixture over the parsnips, layer the filling on top, cover with remaining rice.

The recipe has many ingredients, but they’re divided into steps, most of which can be carried out a day in advance of baking. Taste as you combine the ingredients, adding seasoning to punch up flavor. Be generous with olive oil and salt to assure a moist and savory dish.

The whole-grain (brown) rice is cooked in three steps—first dry-toasted in a skillet, then simmered in liquid. Don’t overcook it at this point, because it finishes in the oven with the vegetables.

Smoked pimentón (paprika) and smoked tofu add meatiness to the rice and vegetable cake.
Use ordinary white mushrooms for the roast or sub in meaty portobellos or shitakes. Save the stems for the gravy, if desired.

Savory Upside-Down Cake with Rice and Mushrooms
Torta Salada al Revés con Arroz y Champiñones

Parsnips are sweeter than carrots. Sliced thinly, they are layered in the bottom of the springform pan. When unmolded, upside down, parsnips make the topping of the torta.

Serves 8 as a main dish.

1 ½ pounds parsnips
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

2 ¼ cups brown rice (3 cups cooked rice)
8 cups boiling salted water

6 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup diced celery
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped
½ pound mushrooms, chopped (3 cups)
8 ounces firm tofu (preferably smoked), chopped or crumbled
2 teaspoons smoked pimentón (paprika)

2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Crumbled sage (salvia)
Fresh thyme (tomillo)
½ cup chopped parsley
½ cup pistachios
2 tablespoons seedless raisins
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons chopped green onions or scallions
½ cup vegetable stock or mushroom broth (see recipe for gravy, below)
Black garlic, chopped (optional)

Oil to grease pan
4 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (optional)
Gravy, to serve (optional) (recipe follows)
Cranberry sauce, to serve (optional)

Cut off the skinny tails of the parsnips and save for another use. Peel the parsnips and cut them lengthwise in ¼-inch slices. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon oil. (Sliced parsnips can be stored, covered and refrigerated, until following day.)

Toast the rice in a dry skillet until grains are lightly browned.

Heat a heavy cast-iron skillet. Add the rice and toast it on medium heat, stirring frequently, until it is lightly browned. (Do not add oil or liquid.)

Add the toasted rice to boiling water. Cover and reduce heat and cook 10-12 minutes. Rice should be a little chewy, as it will cook further in the oven. Drain the rice thoroughly. Return it to the pan and cover. (Rice can be cooked a day in advance of baking the cake.)

Onions, carrots and mushrooms sautéed with tofu add flavour to the rice.

Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the carrots 2 minutes. Add the onions, celery, red pepper and garlic. Sauté them 5 minutes until onions are soft. Add the mushrooms and tofu and sauté 4 minutes longer. Stir in the pimentón. Remove the vegetables from the heat.

Combine the cooked rice and sautéed vegetables in a mixing bowl. Add salt, pepper, sage, thyme, parsley, pistachios, raisins, lemon zest, chopped green onions and vegetable stock. If using black garlic, save three cloves of it to place beneath the parsnips. Cut the remaining cloves into 2 or 3 pieces and mix with the rice. (Rice-vegetable mix can be prepared a day in advance of baking and stored, covered and refrigerated.)

When ready to bake the upside-down cake, preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly oil a springform pan (10- 11- or 12-inch). Line it with a round of baking parchment. Oil the parchment and sides of the pan.

Layer thinly sliced parsnips in bottom of a springform pan. The black bits are cloves of sweet black garlic.

Arrange the sliced parsnips, slightly overlapping, in the bottom of the pan. (If using black garlic, place 3 of them under the parsnips, so they show when the cake is unmolded.) 

Add the beaten eggs to the rice-vegetable mixture. Mix well. Spread half of the rice mixture over the parsnips and press it down firmly. Add remaining mix and smooth the top.

Cover the springform pan with foil. Bake 50-60 minutes. Parsnips in bottom of pan should feel tender when tested with a long skewer and rice should be set. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the oven.

Heat broiler to 500ºF. Have ready an oven-safe serving dish, such as a cazuela.

When the springform pan is cool enough to handle, loosen the sides of the cake with a knife, release the spring and remove the outer rim. Very carefully invert the cake onto the serving dish. Drizzle the parsnips with the pomegranate molasses, if using. Place the dish under the broiler until the parsnips begin to brown in spots, 3-4 minutes.

Remove from broiler. Serve hot or room temperature, with gravy and cranberry sauce, if desired.

Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy with Sherry
Salsa de Champiñones al Vino de Jerez

You will need vegetable stock for this gravy. I made mine with onions with skins on (for color), carrots, celery root (celeriac), leek and herbs and spices. Add a slosh of vinegar and salt to taste. Simmer 45 minutes and strain the stock.

Browning the onions very slowly is what gives the gravy its deep color. Adding a little sugar to caramelize deepens the color (you can omit it, if preferred). In cooking, the liquid reduces by about a third. Pureeing the vegetables thickens the gravy—no need for flour or cornstarch.

The gravy may not need salt after liquid has been reduced. Taste for salt after the gravy has been cooked and pureed. 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ cups chopped onions
½ cup chopped carrot
½ cup chopped mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
½ cup dry Sherry
3 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce (tomate frito)
Sprig of parsley
1 bay leaf
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a skillet and slowly sauté the onions, carrots, mushrooms and garlic, stirring frequently, until onions are dark brown. Don’t let them burn. Add the sugar and stir until sugar caramelizes. Stir in half of the Sherry.

Scrape all of the onion mixture into a saucepan. Add the remaining Sherry, stock, soy sauce, tomato sauce, parsley, bay and pepper. Cook, uncovered, until vegetables are very tender, 20 minutes. Discard parsley and bay leaf.

Use a hand-held blender to blend the gravy until smooth. Taste and add salt, if needed. 

Gravy can be prepared a day in advance of serving. Reheat before serving, adding additional water or stock if necessary.

More recipes for vegetarian mains:

Vegetarian Burgers. (This mix can also be used for a loaf.)

Chard and Cheese Pie.

Brown Rice Vegetarian Paella.

Millet and Carrot Pilaf.

Don Quixote's (Vegetarian) Lentils.

Baked Squash with Brown Rice.

More about black garlic:

Cauliflower with Black Garlic.