carrots & parsnips with cumin vinagrette

Remember when I said I was going to give up orange things?

Oops.

I tried.  Honestly.  I really did.  The prospect of having beta carotene stain my skin a permanent shade of clementine was enough to scare me into eating only green and red and yellow and purple things for a whole two weeks.  And then I relapsed.  Yes, I've had nary a morsel of chocolate.  Haven't had a cookie, either.  And not a single slice of crusty, chewy bread.  But orange things. I just can't quit the orange things.

But if you're gonna be bad, it better be worth it.  And these roasted carrots and parsnips are the closest thing to perfection in a vegetable side-dish that I've had in some time.  (Besides brussels sprouts. Those babies are untouchable.)  Whitney and I enjoyed these a few nights ago with her favorite wild rice blend and a whole roast chicken.  Yes, that's correct.  I shamelessly made Whitney my date night chicken in a last-ditch attempt to get her to leave Brian for me.  It almost worked.

This recipe originally called for beets instead of parsnips, and I took a couple of liberties with the vinaigrette as well.  The original calls for a sherry vinegar, but I didn't have any, so I just used red wine vinegar.  It also calls for whole cumin seeds, toasted and then pulverized. I usually have whole cumin seeds, but I couldn't locate them.  (Who borrowed my cumin seeds and never brought them back? Return them and I'll accept them gleefully, no questions asked.)   I do think that the whole cumin seeds would add a deeper flavor to the vinaigrette, if you use them.   But if you don't have them, mine was great even with just ground cumin.

So now that all the carrots are gone, I resolve to start over.  Tomorrow.  Rae and I are making butternut squash risotto tonight for dinner. (If we succeed, more on that next week.)


Roasted Carrot & Parsnip Salad with Feta
Adapted from Hugh Acheson's A New Turn in The South
Serves 4-6

For the salad:

1 teaspoon salt
1 pound carrots, peeled
1 pound parsnips, peeled
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

For the vinaigrette:

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. Peel the carrots and parsnips. Make sure your carrots and parsnips are about the same size. I left my carrots whole and sliced my parsnips vertically.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil, add ½ teaspoon of the salt, then add the carrots and parsnips. Blanch for 1 minute and remove to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Once cool, remove and set aside.
4. Toss the carrots and parsnips with olive oil and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette. Place the Dijon mustard in a bowl and whisk in the olive oil, then the lemon juice and the red wine vinegar. Add the cumin and the mint. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The vinaigrette will last for 10 days in the fridge.
6. Remove carrots and parsnips to serving dish and drizzle in vinaigrette. Toss. Top with feta and chopped parsley.

p.s.  Happy Birthday to my first roommate, Sophie!  I wish I could celebrate with you again this year like we did here.

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what do soup, black pumps, and men have in common?

Cold Ginger Carrot and Coconut Soup

I love soup!  (And no, that's not the answer to the question.) I like hearty chilis in the winter and light gazpacho in the summer.  I like creamy butternut squash soup, white bean and kale soup, lentil stew, tuscan vegetable soup, you name it, I'll eat it.  Well, I should take that back.  Soup can be a very quotidian thing, but sometimes it's delicious, and this is when it's at its best.  I feel the same way about soups as I do about a pair of black pumps, or even a man.  They're everywhere, and they run the gamut from cheap and tasteless to fancy-schmanzy, too fussy, and too much work (to make, walk in, or date).  Great soup recipes, like men and shoes, take a while to find and a lot of dabbling, but they're out there!  And once you find one you like, why waste time on the other ones you aren't wild about?  Some call it "pickiness"; I prefer "selectivity".  And I'm not sorry about it one bit.

Pureed soup is something that is ridiculously easy to make, but can also be ridiculously unpleasant if you don't do it right.  Kind of like a pair of hooker heels or the complete idiot you went out with once.  I've tried pureed soups with all different kinds of flavors and vegetable combinations, but nothing is like this one.  It's silky and smooth, with just the right amount of kick from the curry, flavor from the ginger, creaminess from the coconut milk, and sweetness from the carrots.  It is supposed to be a cold soup, like a summer gazpacho, but can also be served hot (I ate it both ways).  The final result is a relatively painless recipe yielding immense happiness - everything you should get out of a relationship (with soup, shoes, or men).      

Cold Ginger Carrot and Coconut Soup, adapted from Gourmet 

3/4 cup finely chopped scallion (about 1 bunch)

1 small onion, chopped (about 2/3 cup)

1 tablespoon peeled, finely grated fresh ginger

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 1/2 pounds baby carrots (about 4 cups)

2 1/2 cups low-salt vegetable broth

1 cup canned lowfat coconut milk

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1.  In a large heavy saucepan cook chopped scallion, onion, and ginger in butter with curry powder and salt and pepper to taste over medium-low heat, until softened.  Add carrots and vegetable broth and simmer covered, 20 minutes, or until carrots are very soft.

2.  When carrots are soft, cut heat.  Using an immersion blender, purée mixture in batches, adding coconut milk little by little until very smooth.  Stir in 1 tablespoon lime juice and chill soup at least 6 hour or overnight.

3.  Thin soup with ice water, as needed, and season with additional lime juice and salt and pepper.

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