The loveFOOD guide to... root vegetables
Carrots, parsnips, and other underground wonders... here’s our guide to getting back to your roots.
Carrots
Great all year round, though at their sweetest in summertime. 95% of carrots eaten in the UK are grown on home soil, and thanks to modern techniques carrots are available 11 months of the year. Prior to this they were mainly a summer crop. Keep an eye out for some of the heritage varieties that are now available, as they come in a range of interesting colours.
Stella McCartney's carrot cake recipe
Parsnips
A vegetable practically unknown to the French, who think it's fit only for feeding pigs - the fools. Best covered in a little oil and roasted, this allows their natural sweetness to come to the fore. They’re also great made into chips, as well as blitzed in soups.
Sausage, parsnip and onion roast recipe
Celeriac
An ugly-looking root to be sure, but it more than makes up for it when peeled and finely sliced. It can be used in a gratin, or even better shredded into matchsticks and dressed in olive oil to make a remoulade, served with smoked salmon.
Smoked salmon with celeriac and homemade bread recipe
Swede
Short for ‘Swedish turnip’, the swede came about as a cross between a cabbage and a turnip. Americans call it a 'rutabaga'. It's best boiled and mashed with loads of butter and black pepper, but can also be used in veggie stews and casseroles, as it can take slow cooking.
Hearty leek and lamb cawl recipe
Sweet potato
A tasty earthy tuber with a sweet taste, hence it’s name. Mashed it’s loved by children, but it can be sliced and roasted like parsnips. You can even roast them whole, then scoop out the middle like jacket potatoes and add more fillings.
Cod fingers with mushy peas and roasted sweet potatoes recipe
Beetroot
The big purple one. Often gets paired with poor quality vinegar, but has so much more to offer. Buy fresh, and scrub the skin off (do this in the sink, as it'll make a mess!) before roasting in chunks.
Beetroot tarte tatin recipe
More root vegetable articles and recipes
Anthea Turner's fruits of the earth medley recipe
Cumberland sausages with roasted root vegetables recipe
The cheapest ways to your five a day
Why Indian food is very veggie
Top five restaurants which grow their own
Slow-braised lamb with sweet potato mash recipe
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