Roasted Root Vegetables

Roasted Root Vegetables with Turnips

Turnips, sweet potato, carrots and red potatoes

Roasted root vegetables pair up perfectly with many meats or as a vegetarian side dish. Purchase firm vegetables that are not shriveled or blemished. Young turnips will have a milder flavor than a larger size.

One medium red potato has 154 calories, 34 g. carb and 36% Vitamin C.
One-half sweet potato has 150 calories, 24 g. carb, 438% Vitamin A and 37% Vitamin C.
One medium turnip has 34 calories, 8 g. carb and 30% Vitamin C.
One-half carrot has 27 calories, 6 g. carb and 266% Vitamin A.

Root vegetables

Ingredients:

Carrots
Medium red potatoes
Turnips
Sweet potatoes
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Fresh rosemary
Salt, pepper, garlic or herbs as desired

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Roasting vegetables alone takes about one hour, plan on two to three hours with meat.

Wash the root vegetables and scrub off dirt with a vegetable brush. Peel sweet potatoes and turnips. Leave the skin on red potatoes and carrots for best nutrition.

Quarter the red potatoes and turnips. Slice the carrots and sweet potatoes into similar size pieces.

Place the vegetables in a zipper bag with a drizzle of olive oil and leaves of rosemary stripped off the stem. Add other seasonings or herbs if desired. Gently shake and toss to evenly coat the vegetables. Prepared vegetables can be stored at room temperature for several hours before cooking.

Arrange in a single layer in a roasting pan or cake pan. A roasting rack helps keep the vegetables from sticking to the bottom of the pan but is not required.

Roasting alone: Cover the pan and place into the preheated 450-degree oven for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and stir the vegetables if there is no rack. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Roast for another 30 minutes, uncovered, or until the vegetables pierce easily with a fork.

Roasting with meat: Place the prepared vegetables under and around the meat. Place in the oven preheated to 450 and cook for 20 minutes. Turn down the heat to 350 and cook for two to three hours or until your meat is done. Remove the meat to a platter and tent a piece of foil over it. Turn the oven temperature up to 400 degrees and continue to cook until they pierce easily with a fork, another 10 to 20 minutes.

Roasted root vegetables

Tips:

Smaller pieces cook faster; keep the sizes even for best results.
Roast the vegetables for 20 minutes before adding the meat if you have a cut that does not need to rest.
Ovens vary; adapt the recipe to work with yours.
Nutritional data from Nutritiondata.self.com
Read about the history of the turnip here.

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