romancing root vegetables (and butternut squash)

salad of yellow and red beetroots with feta, walnuts, pomegranate 
molasses

february was fiercely cold and although the sunshine was glorious it was as cold as its silver light. my eyes and nose streamed constantly every time i went out. with weather like this it’s the perfect time to romance root vegetables and the squash family. i love the irregular globular shaped beetroots with their bright stalks and leaves with pink veins. the knobbly pale cream parsnip has its place as it lends itself well to curried spice. even without spice, root vegetables have the quality of comfort food which is winter food by another name.i know that butternut squash isn't a root vegetable but its elongated body with a bulging end has sunflower coloured flesh that tastes as good as its brightness. i was listening to the food programme on radio four about comfort food and it struck me that these vegetables are basically ‘sugary smooth and carbo-calming’. along side that, the colours are a reminder that spring will come again.

i've been having a lot of solo lunches lately as i am between jobs and home a lot. it is the perfect time for me to eat goats cheese whose pungency does not agree with o. to me the sharpness of goats cheese or goats curd or even a briny feta or a tart greek yoghurt hung in muslin to compact it are the perfect accompaniments to the natural sweetness of beets and butternut. one afternoon i assembled a salad of roasted beets (red and yellow). i alternated the coloured coins with crumbly slices of feta. i drizzled over pomegranate molasses and greek olive oil and sprinkled some roughly broken walnuts. the über salty cheese softens the sweetness of the beets.  the pomegranate molasses cuts through the oiliness of the walnuts that add a different texture. it’s a substantial salad and although bread is always welcome, i didn’t really feel the need for it.

open-faced sandwich of butternut, goats cheese, walnuts
 and pomegranate molasses 

half eaten open-faced sandwich of butternut,
goats cheese, walnuts & pomegranate molasses 

on another day i split a whole squash along its centre, scored the surface of the flesh and massaged some olive oil into it. in the cavity where the seeds had been scooped out i added bruised cardamom pods for fragrance. i roasted the squash under a cover of foil till collapsing. the next day i scooped the flesh, mashing it roughly, heating it until the moisture had dried out to the consistency of a thick spread. i piled this on thick slices of wholemeal-rye that i bought from the bread man at berwick street market. the bread had an open texture and was airy like sourdough. i laid thick slices of goats cheese on top of the spread and placed it under the grill so that the cheese melted, catching colour in some places. the leftover walnuts from the beetroot salad found themselves on top of my open-faced sandwich along with a drizzle of pomegranate molasses to tart up the taste (and the plate). this would be equally good with crumbled feta whose pronounced saltiness would enhance the sweetness of the butternut. a sprinkle of fresh pomegranate seeds would brighten the colours and flavours.

texture of the whole-meal rye from the breadman

i made a wonderful parsnip soup one evening warmed with curry powder and lifted with grated apple. i know that it would be easier to steam the parsnips to make soup however i prefer to roast them so that the sugars concentrate and caramelise turning the edges crisp. use a little bit of stock to help the food processer blend the roasted parsnips to a puree. lengthen the puree with a good quality vegetable stock, add a dash of curry powder and salt to taste. before serving grate a tart granny smith into your bowl and ladle the soup over it. not only does it add texture, it freshens the soup up too.