Cured Winter Root Vegetables

I was recently gifted a copy of The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook.  While no longer a vegetarian, like any CSA member, I appreciate a great vegetarian recipe.   This book is filled with complex, sweet and savory dishes perfect for Farmer’s Markets and CSA share boxes.  I have lots of recipes bookmarked in my copy, but this recipe is actually inspired by their blog, The Chubby Vegetarian.  One thing that stands out from this vegetarian husband and wife team, is there creative takes on traditional meat dishes.  Here, root vegetables are cured overnight in pastrami spices, then thinly sliced.  Resulting in a vividly colored delicious vegetarian dish instead of a faux meat product. Their recipe used just beets, but I was curious about using it on a variety of root vegetables then layering them in a sandwich.  I used a watermelon radish, 2 small beets, and a carrot.

The results were fantastic, and we enjoyed them in a variety of sandwiches, even pairing them with smoked turkey, on pita, and along side a cheese tray as a vegetable “charcuterie“.

Here’s another great thing about this recipe-the most work you have to do is grind one full tablespoon of fresh black pepper.  The simplest way I found to do this is great over a small bowl (I took a few breaks-it’s a little tedious!) then measure into the spoon.  Try not to skimp here the fresh pepper adds a lot of flavor.  Once you have the pepper ready, just mix in the other spices.  The smoked paprika and fresh pepper add a nice kick to the veggies. Once the spices are combined, drizzle your washed and peeled root vegetables with olive oil, and carefully coat with the spice mix.

Let the vegetables cure at least one hour and up to twenty four.  I let mine site overnight.  When they’re cured, wrap each vegetable individually in foil and bake in a casserole dish.

Bake for an hour and half.  When the vegetables are cooked through, cool completely (unwrap them and put them in the freezer to cool quickly, just don’t forget about them).  Thinly slice and enjoy!  Store whole in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Cured Winter Root Vegetables

2 lbs root vegetables, peeled and left whole
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine spices and minced garlic.  Drizzle olive oil over roots, and roll around to coat completely.  Coat each vegetable carefully in spice mixture.  To cure, refrigerate at least one hour and up to twenty-four.

Preheat the oven to 350F. 

Wrap each vegetable individually in foil.  Bake in a casserole dish for one and half hours until tender.  Cool completely, then slice as thin as possible using a mandolin or a very sharp knife.

Store whole, up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

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