Eating For Your Future

Happy Sunday Everyone! I hope that you had a lovely Valentine's day. My husband and I stayed in last night, had a wonderful dinner and then curled up to watch a movie. If you have not seen "Chef," I highly recommend it. You can read about it here. I was so touched by the sweet story. 

I have been waiting a week to share this recipe with you. Doesn't this look good?

Well, it is even better than it looks. The recipe focuses on root vegetables which are in an abundance this time of year. The recipe is from Simply Recipes.
I used purple top turnips, carrots, parsnips and  russet potatoes. You may be a little shocked by the use of an entire head of garlic, but trust me, the garlic seems to just melt into the root vegetables and becomes just the perfect amount of flavoring.

Roasted Root Vegetables With Tomatoes and Kale

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 pounds of root vegetables such as parsnips, rutabagas, carrots, potatoes, golden beets, turnips, and celery root, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 head of garlic, the cloves separated and peeled
• 6 Tbs olive oil, divided 3 Tbsp and 3 Tbsp
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes(I used an extra 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes)
• 2 cups (packed) of chopped leafy greens such as kale or chard
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or dried oregano
• Black pepper to taste
• Tabasco sauce (optional, to taste)(I used crushed red pepper flakes)
• 
  

1 Preheat oven to 450°F. Into a large roasting pan, mix together the vegetables, garlic, 3 Tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle with salt.  Roast for 45 minutes, turning the vegetables over in the pan halfway through cooking.

2 Meanwhile in a 4 to 5 quart Dutch oven, heat 3 Tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and sauté until the edges of the onions just begin to brown. Stir in the tomato paste, and cook a minute longer. Using your hands, tear the canned tomatoes into large pieces as you add them to the pot. Add the remaining liquid from the can into the pot. Stir well. Add the Italian seasoning. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to the lowest possible setting. Cover the pot and let cook gently while the root vegetables are roasting.
3 When the root vegetables are ready (they should be browned on the edges and easily pierced with a fork), remove from the oven

Add chopped leafy greens to the pot of tomatoes. Simmer until the greens are wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the root vegetables. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

My final version. 

I made up this recipe last week and took it to my mother's house for lunch and then left the rest with her. I was craving more, so I made up another pot. The second was even better than the first! The root vegetables accent each other beautifully and the dish has a slightly sweet taste, no bitterness whatsoever.    
Be sure to check out other recipes from Simply Recipes. I found lots of things that I would like to try. Their recipes range from meats and vegetables to desserts.