Root Vegetables
542 recipes found
Vegan Matzo Ball Soup
The actress Natalie Portman was seeking a good vegan matzo ball soup, and the result is this recipe: soft matzo balls that hold together thanks to a little help from chickpeas. Matzo meal, potato starch, a little olive oil and lots of ginger, dill and cilantro lend plenty of flavor, while chickpea water (known as aquafaba) provides binding that would otherwise come from eggs. You can use the liquid from canned chickpeas, but the liquid from dry chickpeas soaked, then cooked in water works best. Ginger and nutmeg are characteristics of German-Jewish matzo balls, while the Yemenite addition of cilantro and dill adds even more brightness and flavor. Natalie is right: “It’s a very sad world without good matzo balls.”
Hearty Bean Nachos With Spicy Salsa
According to Dr. Adalberto Peña de los Santos, the director of the International Nacho Festival, in Piedras Negras, Mexico, there are three timeless nacho essentials: crispy corn tortilla chips, mounds of melted cheese and at least one chile. If you want to go big, here are some unofficial guidelines: Nacho toppings should be good enough to stand on their own, the nachos should be saucy (maybe even messy) and they should be so delicious together that you can’t have just one bite. In this recipe, nachos take a vegetarian turn, with buttery pinto beans, tender carrots or sweet potatoes (or both), and a tomato-and-tomatillo salsa. Melty cheese, Mexican crema and chopped onion and cilantro take it over the top.
Julienne Carrot Salad
Sometimes a classic, masterfully executed salad is just what you want, and the easier the better. Enter this simple French salad, also known as called carottes râpées. It is grated carrots dressed with a simple vinaigrette; a lemony one works well. I prefer to cut the carrots into a fine julienne rather than use a box grater, which makes them a bit raggedy. The julienne carrots have a more appealing texture, and they look gorgeous piled on a platter, scattered with chives. It’s not necessary to stay absolutely traditional with this salad. I often veer North African with it, adding pinches of cumin, cinnamon and hot pepper. Nor would it be out of place to introduce Vietnamese seasonings like cilantro, mint, fish sauce and lime.
Pickled Jalapeños
Ask any Mexican if they have pickled jalapeños in their pantry, and the answer is usually a resounding yes. More than a condiment, they are an absolute necessity. Incredibly versatile, they can be tucked into tacos, quesadillas and sandwiches, mixed into tuna salads or eggs for omelets, or served as garnishes, crowning nachos, hot dogs and pizzas. The tangy brine, which can be used to punch up any vinaigrette, tames the heat of the chiles. There are countless store-bought options — and people tend to be loyal to particular brands — but pickling your own is easy, and allows you to customize to taste, altering the vegetable ratios, herbs or sugar content. Inspired by fruit-based vinegars available in the Mexican countryside, this version combines white distilled vinegar with natural rice vinegar, adding a dose of sweetness.
Stuffed Flank Steak (Matambre)
Matambre is a contraction of the Spanish words for "kill" and "hunger" -- it's the hunger killer. It's beef traditionally stuffed with vegetables, herbs, hard-cooked egg and seasonings. I cannot abide hard-boiled egg in cooked meat dishes, so I've substituted olives. It is often served as a kind of cold cut in Argentina, where it was created, but it can also be served hot.
Spicy Stir-Fried Cabbage
This is a vegetarian version of a classic Chinese stir-fry. The authentic versions I’ve encountered include some pork or bacon, but the chilies, ginger, garlic, star anise and the cabbage are flavorful enough without meat. I’ve added carrots for color.
Mini Meatball Soup With Broccoli and Orecchiette
The little meatballs in this cozy soup are just half-teaspoon bits of Italian sausage that needn’t be rolled or browned before being plopped in. As the meatballs cook, the soup takes on the sausage's spices. This recipe is very adaptable: It calls for carrots and broccoli, but use whatever vegetables you wish. For the pasta, the tiny meatballs fit snugly in orecchiette, but feel free to use your favorite shape.
Bukharan Plov With Beef, Carrots and Cumin Seeds
This Central Asian recipe uses medium grain rice, like Kokuho Rose extra fancy sushi rice, and sesame oil instead of long grain rice and vegetable oil, as the dish would be made in Iran. You can find Uzbeki cumin seeds and barberries online or in Persian or Russian stores.
Lemony Carrot and Cauliflower Soup
The beauty of a soup like this — other than its bone-warming properties — is that you don’t need a recipe. You can pretty much simmer together any combination of vegetables with a little water or broth, purée it, top it with good olive oil and salt, and end up with something good to eat. The addition of miso paste and crushed coriander to the broth, and fresh lemon and cilantro at the end, zips things up without negating the comfort factor.
Carrot-Parsnip Soup With Parsnip Chips
Winter root vegetables lend their complementary, slightly sweet flavors to this hearty soup that came to The Times from Cooking Light magazine. Parsnip chips – thinly-sliced parsnips fried for five minutes in olive oil – sprinkled over the top add a delightful crunch. Stir in more water or broth if you prefer a thinner consistency.
Green Beans, Corn and Carrot Salad
This is a sturdy, appealing picnic recipe made from haricots verts, corn and carrots. Haricots verts, by the way, are skinny green beans, but you can use regular ones instead. Like the sandwich, this salad gets even better the longer it sits, and is relatively indestructible. With all the contrasting colors, it’s pretty, too.
Grated Carrot, Kohlrabi and Radish Salad
This recipe is based on the Vietnamese carrot and daikon salad that found in so many restaurants. (It also is used to fill vegetarian spring rolls.) My version is less sweet than the authentic salad and employs a mix of vegetables.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
The addition of potatoes and carrots makes this corned beef and cabbage recipe not only great on St. Patrick’s Day but a satisfying meal any day. Cure beef brisket in a salty, spiced brine and it becomes savory, tangy and aromatic corned beef. Get a corned beef made from flat-cut brisket, if you can, as it will be easier to slice into neat, uniform slabs. (The point cut has more striations of fat and may fall apart when sliced.) Braise the meat until tender, and add the vegetables toward the end of the braising time so they’ll absorb the beef juices and soften until perfectly crisp-tender. Finish the beef with a simple honey-mustard glaze and a quick broil to caramelize, then serve it with more Dijon mustard and beer. (Here are slow cooker and pressure cooker versions of the recipe.)
Carrots and Lentils in Olive Oil
This is an adaptation of a Turkish recipe, a sweet and savory combination of lentils, onions and carrots that can be served hot or at room temperature, as a main dish or a side.
Five-Spice Roasted Carrots With Toasted Almonds
A complex combination of fennel seeds, anise, clove, cinnamon and Szechuan peppercorns, five-spice powder is a crucial ingredient in the Chinese pantry that also happens to be deeply versatile. It can be used as a dry rub for roast chicken, tossed with sautéed vegetables or sprinkled over toasted nuts. Here, five-spice powder, along with a bright splash of vinegar and ginger, dresses up simple roasted carrots. Preheating your baking sheet in the oven will help caramelize and crisp your vegetables, and will also speed up cooking time.
Irish Tacos
You can certainly eat corned beef with boiled cabbage and carrots, but it can be a great deal more exciting to pile the shredded meat — ruddy pink, salty, fatty and meltingly sweet — into warm flour tortillas, then top it with a bright, crunchy, slightly fiery cabbage slaw. The contrast between the soft and the crisp, the salt and the sweet, is fantastic — particularly if you adorn each taco with a few pickled jalapeños and, perhaps, an additional swipe of mayonnaise. It’s not fusion cooking, nor appropriation. It’s just the fact that everything tastes good on a warm tortilla.
Winter Vegetable Soup With Turnips, Carrots, Potatoes and Leeks
I use the food mill instead of a blender — immersion or regular — because I love the texture of the soup when it’s put through the mill’s coarse blade, resulting in a flavorful, colorful mixture that you can almost chew on. But you can use a blender to purée the soup. The texture will be coarsest — which is what you want — if you use an immersion blender.
Roasted Salmon With Toasted Sesame Slaw
Raw bean sprouts are the unexpected star in this version of coleslaw. The toasted sesame-seed vinaigrette brings out the natural earthiness in the crisp sprouts and shredded cabbage. This slaw, beaming with bright ginger, lemon and scallion, is the perfect accompaniment to silky, rich salmon. For a more filling meal, serve with white or brown rice on the side.
Hearty Beef Stew With Red Onions and Ale
In this cozy beef stew, tender chunks of meat in a silky, savory, ale-tinged sauce share the pot with wedges of red onion and sweet nuggets of carrot. A little coriander and allspice add fragrance and depth to the mix, while a spoonful of tomato paste deepens and rounds out the flavors. Like all stews, it tastes even better a day or two later, and can be frozen for up to two months. Serve it over something soft and buttery to soak up the sauce: a mound of mashed potatoes, noodles or polenta.
Morning Glory Muffins
Glory may be a big goal for the morning, but it is attainable. These nourishing muffins are packed with vegetables, fruit, nuts and coconut to keep everyone singing your praises well past breakfast. A bit of spice, brown sugar and whole-wheat flour round out the flavor and make them irresistible. If you’re striving for even more accolades, try topping them with a swirl of cream frosting, which turns them into sweet and satisfying cupcakes.
Carrot and Papaya Smoothie With Hazelnuts and Pistachios
The carrot and the nuts contribute great texture and substance to this smoothie, and the coconut ice cubes add great flavor.
Pineapple, Orange, Granola and Carrot Smoothie
I never thought about adding vegetables to smoothies until I tasted a lunchtime smoothie my sister made that included spinach, pear and walnuts. These are ingredients I like in a salad, and they work well together after taking a trip through the blender — especially with fresh ginger added to the mix. With that, I broadened my horizons and explored fruit and vegetable smoothies. I’d picked several pounds of oranges from a friend’s tree, so I used fresh orange juice as the liquid, and for each drink I combined one or two fruits with a vegetable. I was thinking the smoothies would make great snacks, but in fact these make satisfying meals. They’re packed with vitamins, especially C and A, beta carotene, and antioxidant-rich flavonoids. A small amount of granola contributes great texture to this tangy smoothie. I prefer the thick version without the ice cubes, but that’s a matter of taste. Pineapple is an excellent source of manganese and contains an enzyme called bromelain that aids digestion.
Spicy Tunisian Carrot Frittata
Tunisian frittatas are sometimes baked in an earthenware dish in the oven, sometimes on top of the stove. This one, adapted from a recipe by Clifford Wright, is made like an Italian frittata, but the spices are unmistakably Tunisian.
Pineapple Chia Smoothie With Herbs
I love pineapple smoothies. In this one I use carrot juice for the liquid and it works beautifully, as it’s neither too sweet nor too acidic.