Recipes From the Root Cellar_ 270 Fresh Ways to Enjoy Winter Vegetables - Andrea Chesman [0]
RECIPES From the ROOT CELLAR
250 Fresh Ways to Enjoy Winter Vegetables
Andrea Chesman
To the farmers who keep us well stocked with wonderful vegetables all through the year.
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Edited by Margaret Sutherland and Nancy Ringer
Art direction and book design by Mary Winkelman Velgos
Text production by Vicky Vaughn Shea/Ponderosa Pine Design
and Jennifer Jepson Smith
Illustration by © Susy Pilgrim Waters
Indexed by the author
© 2010 by Andrea Chesman
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Chesman, Andrea.
Recipes from the root cellar / by Andrea Chesman.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60342-545-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Cookery, American. 2. Cookery (Vegetables) I. Title.
TX715.C52456 2010
641.5973—dc22
2010009608
Preface
1 An Introduction to Winter Vegetables
2 Salads and Pickled Vegetables
3 Soups
4 Simple Vegetable Dishes
5 Beans, Rice, and Grains
6 Vegetarian Main Dishes
7 Main Dishes with Fish and Seafood
8 Main Dishes with Poultry
9 Main Dishes with Meat
10 Baked Goods and Desserts
Appendixes
Index
Preface
It all started when I fell in love with salsify, a root vegetable that once graced the tables of many a colonial American kitchen but has since fallen out of favor. Salsify, also known as oyster plant, is said to taste a bit like oysters. Being a major fan of oysters, I thought: What could be better than a root vegetable that lasts and lasts in a root cellar and tastes like oysters even though it grew in my landlocked garden?
I planted my first crop of salsify about 30 years ago. It is a stubborn vegetable to grow. As it emerges from the soil, it looks a lot like grass, so it is easy to weed away the entire crop. And so went the first harvest. After learning from that mistake, I planted again, only to be defeated by clay soil. Salsify likes a deep, loose loam and will produce only the skinniest, gnarliest, and most miserable roots if it isn’t given the loose soil it likes. A vigorous and early thinning also is absolutely necessary to give the roots sufficient space. Did I mention that this plant is fussy about its growing conditions?
But the flavor! Even a meager harvest is worth the labor. Sautéed in butter, salsify has none of the cabbagey nuance of turnips and rutabagas, nor the (sometimes) overwhelming sweetness of carrots and beets. It tastes like, well, a cross between globe artichokes and Jerusalem artichokes. I think it is a terrific vegetable, but so demanding of my care as a gardener that I decided to form an organization called the National Association of Growers of Salsify (NAGS). As the founder of NAGS, my mission was to try and convince vegetable growers to tackle this challenging vegetable.
I wrote an open letter to the newsletter of the Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op, where I shop, entreating members to join NAGS. I promised no dues, no meetings,