Caramelized Root Vegetables

A surprisingly effective and delicious way to cook root veggies is a stovetop "slow-sauté". The veggies cook through and brown up at the same time, while taking on all the delicious flavours in the pan. If you don’t have a cast iron pan, you can make this recipe in a straight-sided sauté pan or nonstick skillet. The browning won’t be quite as even, and you might need to add a bit more oil (with a stainless pan), but the results are still very tasty. This sweet mix of vegetables is excellent with roasted chicken and a glass of very mellow white wine like Savennière.

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, more if needed
½ lb purple-topped turnips, trimmed but not peeled, cut into ½" dice
½ lb Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into ½" dice
½ lb carrots, trimmed and peeled, cut into ½" dice
½ tsp. sea salt
5-6 sprigs thyme, rosemary and/or sage
½ cup onion, cut into medium dice
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

In a 10-11" cast iron skillet, heat the 3 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the turnips, potatoes, carrots, salt, and herb sprigs and stir and toss well to combine and to coat with the oil. (The pan will look crowded.) Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan loosely, and cook, stirring and flipping occasionally with a metal spatula, for about 20 minutes.

Listen to the pan - you should hear a gentle sizzle, not a loud one. If the vegetables are browning too quickly, reduce the heat a bit to maintain that gentle sizzle. If they seem dry, add a bit more olive oil.

Uncover, add the diced onion and continue to cook, stirring and flipping with the spatula, until the vegetables are deeply browned and tender all the way through, about another 15 minutes.

Remove the herb sprigs before serving. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Makes 3 servings.