Jerry Traunfeld’s Root Ribbons with Sage

Ingredients

• 2 lbs root vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, burdock, rutabagas, yams (avoid beets)

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped sage

• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Wash and peel the roots and discard the peelings. Continue to peel the vegetables from their tops to the root tips to produce ribbons, rotating the roots on their axis a quarter turn after each strip is peeled, until you're left with cores that are too small to work with. (You can snack on these or save them for stock.) Alternately, you may use a mandolin.

Melt the butter with the sage in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir for a minute to partially cook the sage. Add the root ribbons and toss them with tongs until they begin to wilt. Add the salt, a good grinding of black pepper, the maple syrup, lemon juice, and about 3/4 cup of water.

Continue to cook the vegetables over medium heat, turning them with tongs every minute or so, until all the liquid boils away and the ribbons are glazed and tender, about 10 minutes total. Serve right away, or cool and reheat in the skillet when ready to serve.

Recipe by Natalie Bickford adapted from Food52

Portobello Mushrooms stuffed with Root Vegetable Farro Risotto

Serves 4.

Ingredients

• 4 large Portobello mushrooms, stems removed

• olive oil

• 2 large carrots, quartered length-wise and cut into ½-inch cubes

• 2 beets, cleaned and cut into ½-inch cubes

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 1 cup farro, rinsed and soaked for at least 30 minutes or overnight

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 cup dry white wine

• ¼ cup nutritional yeast (or parmesan)

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp fresh thyme or parsley

• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Rub the portobello mushrooms lightly with olive oil (about 1/2 tablespoons) and place them, bowl side facing down, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 10 minutes, to par-cook them.

Toss the carrots and beets in one tablespoon of olive oil and arrange on another parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place vegetables in the oven to roast. Roast the carrots and beets for about 20 minutes, or until tender with a slight crunch. 

In the meantime, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil into a medium pot over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt to the pan. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the onions are clear and soft.

Add the farro and garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 2-3 minutes, or until it smells nutty. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the white wine and continue to stir until most of the wine has been absorbed. Add 1 cup of broth and continue stirring until it has been absorbed. Continue this process, adding the stock in 1/2- to 3/4-cup amounts, until the farro is tender. Some of the grains should begin to splay open. If more liquid is needed, just use water. When the farro is ready, stir in the nutritional yeast, thyme/parsley, and lemon juice. Stir in the roasted carrots and beets (or other root vegetables). Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste

Flip the mushrooms on the baking sheet so that the bowl side faces up. Fill each cap with a heaping 1/2 cup (or so) of risotto. Top with a sprinkle of parmesan, if you’d like.  Transfer the mushrooms to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Recipe by Natalie Bickford. Recipe adapted from Food52.