Fall’s bounty is still making itself present with lots of potatoes, sweet or not, carrots, parsnips, celery root and turnips just to name a few. The hustle and bustle of the approaching holiday season has not stopped autumn from finishing out its glory days.
With a surplus of tuber and root vegetables from my weekly farm share, I have been cooking and serving them up in all sorts of ways, from sautéing to roasting, mashing and pureeing for soups. I honestly think I could live off of mashed potatoes all winter long but I don’t think my husband would be too happy with me.
A household favorite is classic scalloped potatoes, and who doesn’t love a good scalloped potato? Creamy and hearty all in one and this is a dish that can essentially be served alongside anything, or even better on its own.
So I figured why not throw in some other root vegetables, solving my surplus issue and saving the mashed potatoes for another time. Low and behold, it worked. The layers of flavor along with the added hint of color brought this dish together perfectly.
Not only was it delicious but it could really work with any starchy vegetable one might have on hand, including squash. The key to this dish is cutting all of the vegetables to the same thickness. A kitchen mandoline would be the ideal tool to use. This will guarantee even cooking.
Scalloped Root Vegetables
Serves: 6 – 8
Ingredients:
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled
1 lb baking potatoes, peeled
1/2 lb carrots, peeled
1/2 lb parsnips, peeled
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium sized bowl combine the cream, garlic powder, thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper; taste for seasoning.
• Using a mandoline slice the peeled vegetables to 1/16”. Place the sliced vegetables into the bowl with the cream; being sure to submerge them.
• Lay the sliced vegetables into a pre-greased 8×11 baking dish. Being sure to overlap and layer them to prevent any holes. Pour the remaining cream evenly over the top of the layered vegetables. Bake for 40 minutes, remove from the oven and brush with the melted butter. Bake for 10 more minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the top begins to brown.
Kayleigh Van Vliet Baig was born and raised in Riverhead, where she lives with her husband Tahir.
Kayleigh has been in the culinary industry for the last 12 years, working in kitchens on the East End. She also is a personal chef.
Look for In the Kitchen with Kayleigh every Saturday on SoutholdLOCAL.com.
Got questions? Recipes? Ideas? [contact-form-7 id=”27493″ title=”Write to Kayleigh”]
