Roasted vegetable season!

Tis the season... to roast all veggies!
Well, maybe not always, but it is happening with astonishing regularity chez moi these days. It's easy, not requiring much attention once the veggies are in the oven, warm (crucial on these cold Seattle days) and delicious. I'll happily make a meal of roasted vegetables just by themselves, though they feature heavily as a side dish on my winter menu.
My newest vegetable roasting passion comes courtesy of Deb at Smitten Kitchen--It is so easy, I can't believe that I haven't been doing it all along! For the original recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/10/cumin-seed-roasted-cauliflower-with-yogurt/

I follow the recipe pretty loosely, which is easy to do as things as simple as this will really come down to personal taste. I've made it with ground cumin and cumin seeds, and can vouch for its deliciousness either way but something about the seeds really did kick it up a notch, so I recommend investing in some cumin seeds if you don't already have them (try buying spices in bulk, as it is pretty inexpensive that way).


Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large head cauliflower1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Plain yogurt (I used nonfat)
Chopped fresh mint leaves, for serving (this would be delicious, but I skipped it because I didn't feel like buying mint)
Pomegranate seeds, for serving

Once you've assembled all of your ingredients, it is simple--cut the cauliflower into bite-sized or at least more manageable pieces, drizzle lightly with olive oil, sprinke with salt, pepper, and cumin seeds, then roast at 425 for 20-30 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender.

Serve with a big spoonful or two of yogurt and a liberal showering of pomegranate seeds for color and a bright burst of flavor. Enjoy. YUM.

Creamy Curried Celery Root Soup

This soup stood out from a myriad of soup recipes that I began considering with some regularity as fall closed in on me this year. The recipe is via Mark Bittman of the New York Times--his recipes often tickle my fancy and this one turned out as well as I imagined it would. The flavor of celery root is like fresh celery, but not quite. I like it better, myself, but I am also a fan of starches (yum).


Now, prepping the celery root to make this soup with was kind of a hassle. The roots are gnarled and alien-looking. Peeling away the tough exterior was accomplished slowly, with the aid of a knife, then a (sturdy) vegetable peeler. Eventually, you end up with the naked celery root, and the remainder of the recipe is a piece of cake.




Creamy Curried Celery Root Soup
(Mark Bittman)
Yield 4 servings

Time 45 minutes

Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cumin
Salt and black pepper
1 1/2 pounds celery root, peeled and cut into 1- to 2-inch chunks
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock or water
1/2 to 1 cup cream, half-and-half, or milk, or to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish

In a medium to large pot, melt the butter on medium high heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook until they begin to soften, then add curry powder, cumin, and salt & pepper. I used yellow curry paste, rather than curry powder, and used 1 & 1/2 tbsp as well--it worked quite nicely. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about a minute.
Stir in your celery root chunks to coat them in spices, add stock, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a gentle simmer and allow to cook until celery root becomes soft (15-20 minutes).
Finally, allow the mixture to cool slightly, and blend until smooth, then add milk, cream, soymilk, or half & half and reheat if necessary before serving. I would recommend straining the soup once before serving, as there were a couple of fibrous bits in my finished product from the celery root. It didn't ruin it, but they were incongruous with the otherwise smooth & creamy soup.
I was so ravenous by the time my soup was done that I had already finished it--but you can see from this photo that the color is pretty blah. If I had brighter dishes, it wouldn't look as bland, I think. It definitely benefits from the pop of color that a little garnish gives it.
Also, The curry flavor becomes more pronounced overnight! It was even better the second day for lunch.