As we are in that chilly time of year, albeit short lived in Cyprus thankfully, certain foods can help to warm us up. We know that adding spices can help, particularly the winter spices such as cinnamon and ginger. These spices can be happily added to savoury and sweet dishes.
Did you know that root vegetables are extremely good for us in cold weather too? As well as being packed with fibre, antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins, they are low in calories, fat and cholesterol and have the added bonus of helping to warm us up. As they are high in fibre, we digest them more slowly than above ground vegetables and so they generate more heat. Root vegetables are starchy veggies that grow below ground they include:
- Bulbs – onion, garlic, fennel, shallots,
- Corms – celery, taro, Colocasia, celeriac
- Tubers – potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, yucca
- Root Crops – beets, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas, carrots
We of course can prepare root vegetables many ways and one of the quickest ways is to make soup. In addition to making soups during this cold spell, we at The Spice House have been making tray bakes with our root veggies and enjoying them as our main meal or a side dish. Here are a couple of our favourites:
Roasted Root Veg Traybake With Feta
Ingredients
- 1kg mixed roots – we used carrots, parsnips, and swede – cut into batons and halved
- 220g new potatoes, halved
- 4 garlic cloves, skin left on
- 4 rosemary sprigs
- 4 thyme sprigs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 50g pack mixed snacking nuts or seeds or Spice&Easy Salad Sprinkles
- 45g feta
For the roasted garlic & herb dressing
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small pack parsley, finely chopped
- 1 lemon, juiced
Instructions
STEP 1
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 5. Tip the roots, potatoes, and garlic cloves into a large roasting tin. Nestle the herbs in amongst them, then drizzle with olive oil and toss, so everything is well coated. Season and roast for 50 mins, or until all the vegetables are tender.
STEP 2
Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skin and blitz with the rest of the dressing ingredients. Alternatively, you can whisk these together in a small bowl. Toss the roots in the dressing, scatter over the nuts, feta and serve.
Optional: Sprinkle with chopped sundried tomatoes
Roasted Roots & Halloumi Traybake
Ingredients
- 800 g mixed root veg, (potatoes, carrots, parsnips, beetroots)
- 2 red peppers chopped and deseeded
- 1 small broccoli, or cauliflower
- olive oil
- 250 g halloumi cheese
- 1 courgette, (or 1 cucumber, 2 carrots or 2 beetroots)
- 1 large eating apple
- 100g baby spinach
- 4 tablespoons quality green pesto
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
- Scrub the root veg and cut into bite-sized pieces with the peppers. Cut the broccoli or cauliflower into florets.
- Spread the veg out in a large roasting tray, drizzle with 3 tablespoons of oil, season with sea salt and black pepper and toss well to coat. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and coloured.
- Cut the halloumi into 2cm pieces and scatter over the veg. Switch the oven to grill, increase the temperature and grill for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is soft and golden.
- Thinly slice or spiralise 1 courgette, 1 carrot, 2 beetroots (on a mandolin works well if you don’t have a spiraliser. Failing that use your potato peeler). Core and finely slice the apple with the roasted veggies, then stir through the thinly sliced veggies and the spinach.
- Mix the pesto with 2 tablespoons of oil and drizzle over to serve.
Visit us at The Spice House for your spices, herbs and blends or check our web site:
www.spiceandeasycyprus.com for more recipes and info
or Find Us on Facebook (Spice and Easy Cyprus) or Telephone: 99104622