Tag Archives: vegetarian

RECIPE: Honey Roasted Root Vegetables Over Watercress

19 Nov

Have I mentioned how excited I am to have Brooklyn Fare Manhattan right next door?  On my way home from work one day, I stopped by and picked up every root vegetable I could find.

Turnips, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, golden beets (I find them very similar to regular beets, but without the pink fingers!) and some brussels sprouts (which are not a root vegetable, but are still delicious when roasted with root veggies).

It took me over an hour to peel and dice it all, but it was incredibly relaxing.

I then tossed all the pieces with honey, olive oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, thyme, salt, and pepper.  When tossing vegetables with honey, I find that stirring it beats them up a bit much and the honey is hard to distribute. So I take 2 big bowls and keep transferring the mixture from one to the other. Works like a charm!

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I roasted them (on a pan wrapped in foil) at 425 and expected it to take about 40 minutes. But at 20 minutes I started to smell some burning so I took off the foil and set the timer for 10 minutes, hoping to caramelize them without more burning.

But alas… there was a good amount of burning. I think this was because I poured the excess liquid on top of the vegetables, which pooled on the sides and burned… (tip: don’t do that)

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What’s amazing is that none of the vegetables actually burnt. It was just the extra honey around the edges.  The Silpats were a bit browner, but everything cleaned up super easily (tip: soak in water while still warm and immediately scrub. Stuff burned in the oven sticks really badly but cleans up instantly when you catch it quick).

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I then put watercress in a bowl and dressed it lightly with Persian Lime Oil and Coconut Vinegar (I love specialty oils and vinegars, but a simple splash of oil and vinegar with a twist of lime would do the trick!) and a dash of coarse salt (always a good compliment for a peppery green)

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It was absolutely frogging delcious.  The honey brought out the sweetness and deep flavors in all the root vegetables and the slight bitterness of the watercress added a peppery note to cut through the richness.  And it was a totally vegan, somewhat healthy meal!

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A great recipe that is very easy, but a bit time consuming due to the peeling and chopping!

 

RECIPE: Honey Roasted Root Vegetables Over Watercress

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 big carrots
  • 3 small sweet potatoes
  • 1 turnip
  • 1 parsnip
  • 4 small beets
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp thyme
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 1 cup watercress
  • 2 tsp oil
  • 2 tsp vinegar
  • Pinch of course salt
  • Squirt of lime (or any citrus)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
  2. Peel and chop all vegetables into 1/2 inch pieces
  3. Toss with honey, olive oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, thyme, salt and pepper
  4. Spread vegetables onto baking sheets (with sides) but if there is extra liquid, try not to get it in the pan. (Use as many pans as needed to have vegetables in one layer.)
  5. Cover with foil
  6. Roast for 20-40 minutes until fork tender (but not mushy)
  7. Remove foil and roast for 5-10 additional minutes until honey has glazed and vegetables begin to brown
  8. Place washed watercress into bottom of a bowl and dress with oil and vinegar and toss on pinch of course salt
  9. Spoon roasted vegetables on top of watercress
  10. Can be eaten warm or cold (stores nicely for lunch)
http://nycnomnom.com/2013/11/19/recipe-honey-roasted-root-vegetables-watercress/

 

Atlanta Nomming: R. Thomas Deluxe Grill

7 Mar

My last Atlanta Nom with Mark and Sara took us to R. Thomas Deluxe Grill.  I was amused to see that the owner loved parrots so much that he had cages of them around his restaurant…

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His entrance…

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His waiting area…

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And on his menu.

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He was definitely a parrot fan!  The story as I remember it was that this place was originally very small, but grew so much in popularity that they wound up putting a (very green) tent with heat lamps outside for the patrons.  The tent was so green that it actually made everything inside glow green.

 

 

It was a pretty cool space.

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I started with the “Blue Moon” Yerba Mate (which was free with a Four Square special!)  It tasted like it could cure just about anything, and was delicious to boot!

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Mark went with the french toast (which was buttery and delicious).

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With the smashed potatoes and (delicious) gravy.

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Sara showed more great self control and got the seaweed salad.  (Man I wish I could eat like that!)

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I went with the Benedict Thomas.  It was on nine grain toast (that was way too tough to cut through, sadly) and homemade hollandaise (which was missing something).  I got it with ham which was delicious, and the poached eggs were perfect.  I wanted to like this more.

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I even tried to get an action shot!

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Sara ordered a slice of the vegan cake (which was HUGE!) and I was shocked that not only was it good for vegan dessert, it was just good!

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Overall, I think this place was fun, but they could definitely use a little influx of seasoning.  And the parrots are fun.

Total Nom Points: 5.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 5.5 out of 10

Quantum Leap

16 Jun

Esther suggested we meet one night for dinner at Quantum Leap in the East Village.  It’s a restaurant that specializes vegetarian and organic dishes.  Usually not my thing (I like my meat), but Esther said it was good, so I gave it a shot.  Turns out it’s actually pescatarian and they also have vegan items.

It was a long day and I had eaten well, so I treated myself to a beer.  I went with the organic Georg Schneider’s Wiesen Edel-Weisse.  It was so good I took a picture of it.

I actually cannot for the life of me remember what Esther ordered.  Esther: If you read this, let me know!  I remember she liked it very much though.  It MAY have been this: Vegetarian Curry Stew a melange of seasonal vegetables and tofu slowly simmered in our south east asia curry spices. served with basmati-lentil rice

The rice was especially delicious.

I had the Seafood Scampi with skewers of broiled shrimp scallop, flounder and salmon in roasted fresh garlic. served with fettuccini and sauteed garden vegetables in a pesto sauce.

I really liked the seafood and the pasta taste was great, but a little extra oily.

Point estimation?  11 for dinner.

  • Beer ~ 3 points
  • 2 skewers ~ 5 points
  • 1 cup pasta ~ 3 points (I didn’t eat all on the plate)

I think this place was pretty good, and I certainly didn’t miss the “meat.”  I wasn’t overwhelmed, however, and don’t think I’d be chomping at the bit to go back.

Total Nom Points: 5.5 out of 10