Stained Glass Roasted Salad
One yukon gold potato, washed & peeled
One biggish beet, washed & peeled
One big soup carrot, washed & peeled
Splash of lemon juice (or something else acidic)
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt
Spice(s)
Two kitchen toys (optional, but helpful)
One cookie sheet
One oven
Never eaten burdock root? There's a special tool out there that is meant just to cut it into tiny strips, but it also works on many delicious root veggies. A kinpira tool is bit dangerous, but all fun and effective kitchen toys are. Same goes for a ceramic paring knife. I've recently acquired one of each, and I found both them handy for this, but any good knife or spiffy processor would do.
I hate to julienne, so the kinpira tool does it for me, and ceramic knife makes quick work of bits that are too awkward for the kinpira toy.
In essence, julienne the crepe outta each veggie, toss 'em in a bowl and give 'em a few good shakes of spice(s) you like (ancho chile powder for me), sprinkle on salt, toss it all together. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil and a splash of lemon juice, toss again.
Grab a cookie sheet, line it with parchment (or lightly oil the sheet), and spread the veggies out in a thin layer on the sheet. Throw the sheet in the oven, turn on the heat to 400 degrees F. Let it roast for 10 to 15 minutes & then check to make sure nothing is browned to a crisp. If the edges look like they are getting too dry, stir up the veggies, folding the wet center veggies over the drier edge veggies. Spread out in a thin layer again and put it back into the oven for another 10 minutes or so. Sample a few bits, pull it out of the oven when the tenderness and browning are as you'd like. I like mine pretty chewy, but with a few slightly crisp bites. Season again to taste, if needed.
Serve with something green alongside, or just curl up with a bowlful and a fork. Enjoy the colors and the roasted sweetness, and feel like winter isn't so bad. A side of greens mashed with white beans and a little garlic would be pretty good, too.
(I'm sure that this dish would also be good with turnip, onion, rutabaga, and/or possibly jerusalem artichoke, granny smith apple, cabbage, dark leafy greens... Celery has a very different texture, but I'm sure the roasted flavor would be nice.)
