acorn roasties and other rooty vegetables

(This is currently my favourite website: the NaBloPoMo randomiser! What sweet brilliance is that? I was going to roll through the list in word order [i.e. Z-E-P-H-Y-R, Q-U-I-C-K, D-A-F-T, B-L-O-W] until I'd managed to use every letter once without repeating, but this is at once more fun and less demanding of a good dictionary. [If anyone can find a word that has G, J, M, N, S, V, X and NO VOWELS they get a prize.] As I've never been good at this sort of word game, and am even worse at Scrabble, the NaBloPoMo randomiser is the best thing ever.)

I have documented my love of root vegetables before, however today I would like to step away from the beetroot and towards the squash. Acorn to be precise, acorn roasties to be exact. 

Squash is something I cannot resist buying. The total lottery of shapes alone is enough to make me drool – I think it began in kindergarten with potato painting – did you ever do that? Cut a potato in half, smear the open side with poster paint and stamp yourself silly on cardboard? Absolutely, deliriously the best thing you can ask a four-year-old to do. Soggy creations at their finest – so whenever I find myself at a farmers’ market in the autumn, I do what comes naturally. Head straight for the nearest organic stall. Such wonky delights are hard to come by in this supermarket perfect world of ours. And today, I have in my possession an acorn squash that would win ‘What the *£$%@ is that???’ prizes the world over.

This recipe is not for the faint hearted; I use plenty of butter to give it extra crisp. However if your dietary requirements state NO BUTTER, then use a dash more oil instead.

ingredients:

half an acorn squash
the knobbly end of a butternut squash
3 small-medium parsnips
6 smallish potatoes
3 small red onions
2 medium beetroots (optional)
butter
olive oil
sea salt
pepper
basil
parmesan cheese (grated)

method:

Preheat oven to 2500 C/4800 F. Struggle carefully with a VERY SHARP knife to skin the squash. Be VERY CAREFUL, one slip and you could be a thumb down. Once skinned, chop into pieces about an inch-and-a-half across, as deep as you like (but take care not to square them; it’s hep stuff after all). Chop up the potatoes and put aside. Slice the parsnip into slim pieces, about four inches long.

Place in a large saucepan; add enough water so that the veg is nicely covered. Place on the hob and bring to the boil. While their bubbling away, remove the skin and quarter or sixth the red onions for later.

Once the pan(s) is boiled, reduce the heat and simmer until you can run a knife easily through the largest piece in the pot. When the veg is tender, heat some olive oil (three or four fifty-pence piece sized spills) and a large knob of butter in a large roasting tin. (Or a couple of smaller tins if you don’t have a large one.) (Actually, I used to use £-shop cake tins until I could afford a roasting tin and they work just fine.)

Drain the vegetables and scatter in the tin, and tuck in the onion wedges wherever you can. Shower with a light layer of olive oil and sprinkle as much salt, pepper and parmesan cheese as you like over the top. Leave in the oven for 35-55min, or until a nice, crisp brown along the edges. To make the crisping an even greater success, occasionally spoon the oil over the veg and turn them over to ensure the browning is relatively even. Five minutes before you remove from the oven add a handful of washed basil leaves and more parmesan, toss lightly and return to the oven.

Serve with gently steamed chard, grilled mushrooms and grilled tofu (as per moi) or with a generous salad. Matthew had his with scrambled eggs and was quite pleased with the result.

Comments

[Sharon]

Tis the season for roast veg, it's just a shame it takes so long. I think I'll make roast butternut squash pasta bake tonight...

[Mombat]

Yes, yes to all! Root vegetables AND randomizer are simply divine. I will be sure to try this recipe as it sounds fantastic. Keep up the good work!

[angela]

That sounds delicious but as I'm the only one who likes squash.....
I reckon the Pavlova would taste good with any berry fruit. With all the sweetness of the chocolate it needs something with a bit of sharpness. I tried strawberries and they were a little bland.
Good luck,
Angela