Slow-Cooking Root Vegetables for Cold Evenings

The Cold Evening Kitchen

There is a particular comfort in a kitchen on a dark January evening: the oven set low, the windows steamed up, and a tray of roots turning gold at the edges. Parsnips, carrots and swede are at their best from October through to March, and they cost very little compared with almost anything else on the market stall. What they ask for in return is time. Roasted slowly, their natural sugars caramelise, their fibres soften, and a modest bag of vegetables becomes something you would happily set before guests.

This is cooking that suits the season. Nothing needs to be rushed, nothing needs to be exact, and the results stretch across several meals — a tray of roasted roots on Sunday can become soup on Tuesday and a pie accompaniment on Thursday.

Choosing and Storing Your Roots

Buy roots that feel heavy for their size and have firm, unblemished skins. Soft patches, sprouting tops and a hollow feel are all signs of age, and old roots turn woody however long you roast them.

• Parsnips: smaller and medium specimens are sweeter; very large ones often have a tough, fibrous core that is best cut away before cooking.
• Swede: look for a deep purple top and a waxy, unbruised skin. A good swede is dense and smells faintly of cabbage when cut.
• Carrots: maincrop varieties hold their shape beautifully in the oven. Bunched carrots with the tops still on are worth the extra few pence.

Stored somewhere cool and dark — a shed, a garage, a hessian sack in the bottom of a larder — roots will keep for weeks. Plastic bags in a warm kitchen are the enemy; they trap moisture and encourage mould. Celeriac, beetroot and turnip all roast happily alongside the usual three, so add them when you have them.

The Basic Slow Roast

Set the oven to 180°C fan, 200°C conventional, or gas mark 6. Cut everything into pieces of roughly the same size — about 4cm chunks — but keep swede slightly smaller, as it is denser and slower to soften. There is no need to peel carrots if the skins are clean; just scrub them well.

Tumble the roots into a large roasting tin with three or four tablespoons of rapeseed or olive oil, a generous pinch of flaky salt and plenty of black pepper. Add whole unpeeled garlic cloves, a few sprigs of thyme, a sprig or two of rosemary and a bay leaf tucked underneath. Spread everything into a single layer — crowd the tin and the vegetables will steam rather than roast.

• Give parsnips and swede a twenty-minute head start before adding the carrots.
• Turn everything once at the halfway point, around thirty minutes in.
• Total cooking time is usually fifty to seventy minutes, until the edges are dark and sticky.
• For a glossy finish, drizzle a teaspoon of honey or maple syrup over the tray for the final ten minutes.

The smell that fills the house while this happens is half the pleasure of the dish.

Blending into Hearty Soups

Tip a full tray of roasted roots into a large pan and cover with about a litre of vegetable or chicken stock. Simmer gently for ten minutes, then blend until completely smooth, loosening with a little milk or single cream if it feels thick. The roasting does most of the flavouring work for you, so keep additions modest.

• Carrot and ground cumin or coriander is a dependable pairing.
• Swede benefits from a grating of nutmeg and a spoonful of wholegrain mustard.
• Parsnip and apple, cooked together, makes a soup with a lovely sweet-sharp edge.

Season well at the end and add a squeeze of lemon juice — it lifts the whole pot. Serve with thick slices of buttered bread, or a swirl of cream and some toasted seeds scattered over the top.

Alongside Pies and Roasts

Roasted roots are far more versatile than most people allow. Mash swede and carrot together with plenty of butter and white pepper for a proper northern-style side dish, or crush the roasted pieces roughly with a fork so they keep some texture. Either works beautifully next to a steak and ale pie, a roast chicken, or a plate of good sausages and onion gravy.

Cold roasted roots are excellent the following day, tossed with a handful of salad leaves, crumbled feta and a sharp mustard dressing. Chopped finely and fried with yesterday's potatoes, they make a very good bubble and squeak to sit under a fried egg.

Batch Cooking and Leftovers

Roast more than you need — a double tray costs nothing extra in fuel. Cooled roasted roots keep in the fridge for four days in a covered container. To freeze, spread them on a tray until solid, then bag them up; they will hold for three months and reheat well in a moderate oven for fifteen minutes.

Soup freezes just as reliably, though it is best frozen before any cream goes in. Portion it into containers while still warm, cool quickly, and label with the date. On a raw evening when you cannot face cooking, a tub of parsnip soup thawed on the hob and eaten with a slab of cheese on toast is a small and genuine luxury.