CONNOISSEUR:Here are some great ways to liven up root vegetables
BEING A SEASONAL shopper doesn’t get any tougher than in February. Grey skies, roots and brasicas are not exactly a heady cocktail. We have had tubers for months now and as the days grow longer the urge to ditch them in favour of lighter, brighter eating seems irresistible. But wait, there may well be snow to come, temperatures will stubbornly fail to rise. Spring remains a long way off.
The five-a-day health message is one we probably all wish we were better at and undoubtedly it is easier when picnics and garden eating make salads more attractive but even the humble vegetables of the moment have their high points.
Carrots really do help us see in the dark because they have extraordinarily high levels of vitamin A. This is a root to cherish not only because it packs such an impressive punch but also because of its versatility. Resist the urge to boil them. Eat them raw and grated with seeds and nuts, dressings of mustardy rich vinaigrettes and lots of parsley. Or sauté, thinly sliced, gently over a very low heat in butter, the latter will turn a nut brown if you are careful with the heat (a diffuser plate is useful for this). Or roast whole with olive oil, a good seasoning and a splash or three of red wine or balsamic vinegar.
For anyone watching their weight, the gnarled parsnip is a friend indeed, brandishing a third of the calories of our favourite tuber, the potato.
While a puree with its attendant butter or olive oil may not be the thing here, toasted cumin seeds, honey and minted yoghurt all help to liven things up.
Cabbage adds colour when nothing else seems to shine bar wintering spinach, but the red version packs higher levels of fibre, vitamin C, calcium and iron. Braised slowly with spices, onions and a hint of sweetness – balsamic perhaps, or some cassis or sherry – this is colourful winter eating at its best.
For those looking for more substance the addition of bacon, smoked pork or good pork sausages turns a side dish into something really substantial. Or fashion it into coleslaw for a colourful version of this often too-white salad staple.
Why two such different vegetables – the globe and the Jerusalem – should both be called artichokes is a surprise. It turns out the founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, thought the tuber, first tasted in Cape Cod in Massachusetts, was similar in flavour. A slight similarity perhaps, but hardly that close. What is good news for those attracted to this hardly beautiful vegetable is its heart and liver-protecting antioxidants that outstrip ever-so-healthy broccoli.
For those who find Jerusalem artichokes a little hard to digest, double cooking does help. Blanch in salted water before frying, roasting or even grilling. Bar-marked, they make a fine addition to a winter salad.
Finally, the most surprising seasonal treat of all is the humble and grossly overlooked kale. This tough and wrinkled cabbage-like vegetable delivers more nutritional value for fewer calories than any other food.
While I would be reluctant to base my diet entirely on kale, it is far more versatile than might be expected. Stir-fried it is a treat, blanched and doused in a chilli and garlic infused olive oil it comes up shining, literally. Whisked into creamy mash, it makes a fine alternative to colcannon. Blanched in boiling salted water and left plain to support a piece of grilled meat or fish, it provides colour and flavour at a time when little else is around.
So things are not really so bad after all. Seasonal eating may not be quite at its best, but we are surrounded with treats if only we know where to look.