Variety With Root Vegetables

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 70, Issue 4, 16 April 1945, Page 435

Variety With Root Vegetables

ROOT vegetables should be a major constituent of New Zealand meals, and on their preparation and cooking depends very largely whether their great nutritive values are retained. The following kitchen hints and recipes, reprinted from a bulletin issued by the Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics of the United States Department of Agriculture, should contain some useful ideas for housewives in this country.

BEETROOT . . . carrots .' . turnips, white, yellow, purple-topped . . . parsnips . . . green spring onions, brown and silver-skinned onions—■ these vegetables bring vitamins, minerals, starches, and sugars to help supply the body’s needs. When the Saucepan Boils To make the most of minerals, vitamins, and flavour ... Start root vegetables in boiling salted water . . . about 1 teaspoon of salt to a quart of water. With young tender roots use only enough water to prevent sticking to the pan. For older roots have enough water to cover. Boil root vegetables whole in their skins unless too strong or tough. If peel you must, make the peelings thin, or scrape no more than skin deep. To keep beetroot from losing its bright red, leave on the long taproot and an inch or two of stems. A quick dip into cold water loosens the jacket on a cooked beetroot so it slips off like a glove. To speed cooking time . . . save fuel . . . conserve vitamins, cover the saucepan. If not overcooked, even onions and turnips are not too strong flavoured.

Slice or dice to cut cooking time more. To bring out their best cook root vegetables only until tender. Don’t overcook. Serve in their own juice, or if too much, use right away in soup, sauce, gravy, or vegetable cocktail. Season to Taste Easiest way to season a plaincooked hot vegetable is to add salt and pepper to taste and a little dripping or melted fat, just before serving. Or some like a little milk added at the last minute to cooked carrots, turnips, or onions. To give more “lift” now and then, drop in a little chopped onion, green onion tops, parsley, or chives. A little vinegar or a squeeze or two of lemon juice adds a pleasantly sour note to seasoning for boiled carrots, beetroot, or turnips. Be “Saucy” Now and Then White sauce blends well with plaincooked onions, carrots, parsnips, or turnips. For a medium-thick sauce to serve over vegetables blend 3 tablespoons of flour with 3 tablespoons of fat. Add 1J cups of milk. Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly to make the sauce

smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. This makes enough sauce to mix with 3 cups of cooked vegetables. Some vegetables are better with a thin white sauce, made with 2 tablespoons of fat to 2 of flour, for 1-J cups of milk. Invent your own. —To the white sauce add left-over bits of meat or fish, or hard-boiled egg, or grated cheese. For a thrifty family-size scalloped dish, combine left-overs of vegetables too small to serve by themselves with a white —plain or fancy. Top with bread crumbs and bake until bubbling and brown. Recipes which follow are for 6 servings and take about 21b. of raw vegetables. BEETROOT. Bulbs and Tops Cook small beetroot and tops in water until tender (15 or 20 minutes), drain, ■ and chop together. Season with fat, salt, and pepper. Or use the tops of larger beetroot if they are still crisp and green. They may take longer cooking, but are high in food value. . Harvard Beetroot 1 tablespoon cornstarch or 2 tablespoons flour, 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar, I teaspoon salt, i cup vinegar, i cup water, 2 tablespoons fat, 3 cups cooked beetroot, sliced. Mix cornstarch or flour, sugar,' and salt. Add vinegar and water and boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the fat and beetroot, and let stand until the sauce becomes red. Reheat if necessary. Beetroot Soup Here’s a quick way to make beetroot soup something like Russian borsch, but using left-overs. Add finely-chopped cooked beetroot to meat broth, along with chopped cooked onion, carrot, or cabbage. Season with herbs and serve hot. Some like beetroot soup topped with sour cream. PARSNIPS. Browned Parsnips To get rid of the woody core, boil

the parsnips whole, split lengthwise, and strip out the tough centre. Dip the halves in flour and fry in fat until they are golden brown. Or mash and season the parsnips to make little cakes, and fry them. Scalloped Parsnips Arrange cooked parsnips, split lengthwise, in a shallow baking dish, pour over them medium white sauce, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and bake until brown and bubbly. CARROTS AND TURNIPS. Panned Carrots Slice carrots thin. Place in a frying pan with a little melted fat, cover, cook slowly until tender. Season with salt and pepper. If desired, fry carrots with sliced onions.. With apples.—Cut the carrots in strips and cook as above until almost tender. Then add apples sliced in rings with the skins on, sprinkle with salt and sugar, and brown well. Carrot Scallop 1 egg, 1 cup milk, 3 cups raw carrots, cut fine, 1 tablespoon melted fat. Beat the egg slightly. Add the milk, grated, ground, or finely chopped carrots, fat, and salt and pepper. Pour into a greased baking dish. Bake in a moderate oven until set. Quick Carrot or Turnip Soup Cook 2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion in 2 tablespoons of fat for a few minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of flour. Add 1 quart of heated milk and 1 cup of grated, minced, or finely chopped raw carrots or turnips. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Carrots or Turnips O’Brien Chop cooked carrots or turnips and season with salt and pepper. Melt 2

tablespoons of fat in a frying pan and spread a thin layer of the vegetable in the pan. Heat slowly, serve hot. Turnips and Tops Cook small turnips and their tops together just as you would'small beetroot.

ONIONS.

Onion Soup Cook 2 cups finely chopped onions in 2 tablespoons fat until lightly brown. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of flour and stir. Add 1| quarts hot meat broth, made by cooking a soup bone in water, and stir until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the onions are tender and flavour well blended. Serve in bowls with a slice of toast in each. If you have cheese on hand, grate a little over the toast. Spring Onions on Toast If you have an abundance of spring onions, allow 6 or 7 finger-size ones to each serving. Cook, green tops and all, until tender in lightly salted boiling water, about 20 minutes if onions are young and fresh. Season' with melted fat and serve on toast. Scalloped Onions and Peanuts Measure 3 cups of cooked onions, 1 cup of ground roasted peanuts, 1 cup of thin white sauce, 1 cup of bread crumbs blended with a little melted fat. In a baking dish make alternate layers of onions, peanuts, and sauce. Cover the top with bread crumbs. Bake in , a moderate oven until crumbs are golden brown. Stewed Onions and Tomatoes Stew sliced onions with tomatoes, thicken with a little flour or stale bread toasted and broken into small pieces.

ROOTS AND ROAST.

Place root vegetables around a pot roast when the meat is nearly done. Make it any combination you like onions, potatoes, turnips, carrots, whole or in halves. Cook under a lid until the vegetables are almost tender, then baste with the meat broth, and let brown lightly. Serve on a hot platter with vegetables circling the meat. . MIX YOUR VEGETABLES. Vegetable Soup Simmer a soup bone in water. To each quart of this meat broth allow — 1 medium-size onion, 2 small carrots, 1 turnip, 1 medium-size potato, pepper, 2 stalks celery and leaves, 1 cup tomato juice and pulp. Cut all the vegetables about the same size and shape. Cook until tender in the salted meat stock. Season well and serve hot. Vegetable Chowder Make chowder with the same vegetables as for soup, but use milk instead of meat broth. Brown the

onion first in meat drippings. Then add the cut-up vegetables and 2 cups of boiling water. Cook until vegetables are tender. Add 3 cups of hot milk, i cup of bread crumbs, and season to taste. Serve hot. Vegetable Stew or Pie Use half as much meat broth and the same quantity of vegetables as for vegetable soup. Thicken with a tablespoon of flour mixed with cold water, and you have a delicious stew. Or put the stew in a baking dish, cover with pastry or with mashed potatoes, and bake in a hot oven.

SOME RAW.

For a relish to eat raw with salt, serve spring onions, young turnips, and carrots cut in thin sticks. For a salad to mix with dressing . . . Shredded raw. carrots with sliced cabbage, or diced apple. Shredded carrots and cottage cheese balls. For a sandwich, shredded raw carrot with chopped nuts or raisins, mixed with dripping. Tender and tasty vegetables help to keep wartime meals balanced when other foods are scarce. Every root vegetable has its virtues. Carrots, for instance, have a high vitamin A content. Turnips, especially if eaten raw, help to fill the vitamin C quota. Onions are the world’s most popular seasoner. To get the good from vegetables Eat some raw, some cooked. Cook quickly; use all the juices. Store to keep crisp and plump. Root vegetables like a cool, moist place best. One exception—onions —like it cool and dry.