Roasted Root Vegetables with Lemony Black Kale and Delicious Salty Things

riffs and barely recipes

Hi Friends,

Sometimes when people are eating food I cook, they’re like “You should write a cookbook!” And I’m like *visible happiness* and “Maybe someday, but also I have three book projects at the moment and most of what I cook is just riffing off other people’s recipes.”

I can imagine an alternate life where I’m one of those people who co-writes cookbooks with chefs who are more used to cooking than explaining what they’re doing, being the person who’s like “Hang on, how much salt did you just use?” and also “Let’s tell a little story here.” If a gig like that came up, I’d be tempted.

Anyway, no cookbook plans yet. But I’d like to start sharing some of these riffs and “barely recipes"—an approach, a technique, a combination, a loose formula. I love how

Julia Turshen

does this with her charts!

So here’s one I’ve been riffing on non-stop recently!

Roasted Root Vegetables with Lemony Kale and Delicious Salty Things

Here’s what you need:

• Some beets, carrots, or other root vegetables. Potatoes, sure. Parsnips, why not? A winter squash like Kabocha would be fine too.

• Olive oil and salt. We can assume this, yes?

• Kale, preferably Black Kale, also called Dino Kale or Lacinato Kale.

• Lemon juice. Fresh-squeezed. Or just use a nice tart vinegar, it’s fine. You could even lean further into the citrus and add some supremed Cara Cara orange segments or slices of grapefruit or something.

• Some salty fatty things, ideally an olive¹, a nut, and a cheese. These can stay on the side and be added individually if you’re serving folks with dietary restrictions or strong olive thoughts.

• Optional: fresh crunchy things like shaved fennel or red onion.

• This is really good with a roast chicken.²

Chioggia beets in the light. So pretty.

And here’s how to prepare things:

1. Heat oven to 425F. If you’d like, peel the vegetables first. I tend to peel beets, could go either way with carrots, and typically leave potatoes as they are. Slice your vegetables into wedges or chunks. Toss with olive oil and salt. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and spread the vegetables evenly on it. Roast 20-25 minutes until tender and browning here and there. You can make this dish while they’re still hot, at room temperature, or even kept in the fridge overnight.

2. Strip the kale leaves from the stems, curl them into a layered roll (like a cigar), and slice the kale into thin strips. Massage a little kosher salt to tender them up if you want, then toss with olive oil and squeezed lemon juice (or, sure, whatever vinegar you like). Don’t hold back on the tart. Has Samin Nosrat taught us nothing? Acid makes the whole thing shine.

3. Add some salty things to the kale. Here are a few combos I’ve tried recently:

   1. Roasted salted pistachios, cubes of Manchego, crumbled Castelveltrano olives

   2. Toasted pine nuts, crumbled Pecorino Romano, sliced grilled olives from Trader Joe’s

4. Put the roasted vegetables on a platter and then pile the kale with salty things on top. The ratio can vary according to your mood. I think of it more as vegetables with a lemony green accompaniment than a “salad,” but you could certainly go in the opposite direction. Beets and carrots are both sweet, especially when roasted, so they hold up well to salty, briny, pungent flavours like cheese, olives, capers, etc. You could also riff on the dressing. One time I made a tarragon, lemon, sour cream, Greek yogurt sauce for the carrots (see below), and that would probably be good with everything.

Also good with homemade potato gnocchi, as pictured here.

What’s your go-to winter recipe these days?

Wishing you well (and wanting you well fed),

Bronwen

PS: Hit the heart if you like Castelveltrano olives or beet-stained fingers or want me to share more recipe riffs.

PPS: My sister and I still joke about this every time we cook together:

(If you cook with me, I will tell you if it’s my salad onion. If I cook with you, I bring no expectations to your onions and am ready to be instructed.)

1. Castelveltranos were back in stock at Costco last time I was there, and I bought [an undisclosed] amount. And sent my sister a picture.

2. A roast chicken is really good if you salt it thoroughly a day or two ahead of time.