Sure it’s not yet November, but my mind has already turned to Thanksgiving. Although I don’t get to head down to Georgia this year for Turkey Day, I still have every intention of whipping up a nice dinner come November 26th. With that in mind, I’ve been trying different recipes in an attempt to create a Thanksgiving menu that will knock my friend’s socks off (or at least leave them speechlessly happy in a food coma). When I stumbled upon this recipe for Maple-Ginger Roasted Vegetables with Pecans, I knew I wanted to try it out for a spot on the Big Menu (as my Thanksgiving menu will be called from henceforth).
What I loved about this dish was how much it celebrates the bounty of Fall. I picked up all the produce (brussels sprouts, parsnips, cauliflower, butternut squash and even fresh GINGER from Next Step Produce) during a trip to the Dupont Circle Farmers Market and was pleasantly surprised at how well their flavors worked together. Although the recipe called for pecans, I didn’t have any on hand. And it turned out that I didn’t miss the bite of the pecans at all.
I loved the flavors of this dish, but even better, I loved how easy it was to make. Sure there was the prep work of chopping up the vegetables, but with The Boy’s help, that didn’t take long. Once all the veggies were diced, the rest of the dish didn’t take long to throw together. And for Thanksgiving, that’s a distinct advantage.
Recipe: Maple Ginger Roasted Autumn Vegetables (from Food & Wine magazine)
Ingredients
- 4 medium carrots (3/4 pound), peeled and sliced on a diagnol
- 2 large parsnips (1 pound), peeled and sliced on a diagnol
- 1 medium head cauliflower (2 1/2 pounds), cut into florets
- 1 small butternut squash (2 pounds)—peeled, seeded and cubed
- 1 pound brussels sprouts, halved
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated or minced
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- In a large bowl, toss the carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, squash and brussels sprouts with the olive oil and nutmeg and season generously with salt and black pepper. Add the maple syrup and ginger and toss the vegetables again.
- Spread the vegetables on 2 large rimmed baking sheets and roast for 30 minutes, until the vegetables begin to brown. Stir the vegetables to prevent burning.
- Continue to roast the vegetables for 25 minutes longer, until they are tender and golden. Scrape the vegetables into a bowl and serve hot or at room temperature.
Number of servings (yield): 12
Meal type: dinner
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I’m loving all of your fall recipes! I plan to try out a version of the lentil sausage soup this weekend. And I agree that this is the best time of year in DC.
Oh YUM!!! Roasting veggies is a fall hobby of mine:) My fave combo is roasted carrots and parsnips. And squash!!! Roasting veggies makes them as addictive as candy. So awesome.
A friend served me this and I had to have the recipe. I made it yesterday and it was even better than I’d remembered. This is a keeper.