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Thursday, October 16, 2014

Roasted Roots drizzled in Raspberry Vinegar

Roots have been lingering...
I was longing for something sexy and spicy at the same time.  Sexy because there are purple and orange vegetables.  Spicy with red and green chile peppers, tangy with the raspberry vinegar.  I knew it would be a winning combination I wanted to pair with something I recently bought in the "Spanish" section of the grocery store called angulitos.  The angulitos in their little can called out to me so loudly that I was already in line ready to pay for my groceries when the urge was greater than my resistance.  I held up the line while I ran back to the "world" aisle to grab that little can of angulitos.
Judging by the name and the picture on the cardboard box, I had assumed they were mini eels in olive oil.  My multilingual brain must have played a trick on me.  In French, anguille is an eel, so in Spanish, angulito must be small eel, right?
Wrong.
I think this fish stuff was made to look like small eel, but is actually just a sort of shredded surimi in olive oil.  It doesn't make it bad, but I was expecting somewhat of a marinated anchovy party of baby eels..
Anyway, it worked well as the protein part of my roots.
Have I mentioned I love purple vegetables.. especially when mixed with orange ones.. ooh I think I just now this instant got excited for fall!
Serves 2
Ingredients
3 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
1 large beet, peeled and cut into sticks
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into sticks
1 red chile, seeded and cut into chunks
1 green chile, seeded and cut into chunks
3 shallots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 Tbsp thyme
1/2 tsp fleur de sel
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
Few drizzles raspberry vinegar
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
Directions
1.  Toss all the vegetables with the thyme, fleur de sel, and olive oil.
2.  Spread out evenly on a baking sheet and cook for 30 to 40 minutes in a 190°C 375°F oven.
3.  Remove and serve topped with chopped cilantro and a drizzle of raspberry vinegar.

I served mine with angulitos, but this would have gone well with just about any fish, meat, or egg.
The flavors were perfectly balanced with the natural sweetness coming from roasting the beets, carrots, and sweet potato.  The roasted shallot chunks added another dimension of sweet depth, and the chiles gave it just the right amount of heat.  All was nicely balanced by the tangy drizzle of raspberry vinegar.
I suppose you could use balsamic vinegar as well, but it might stain your pretty orange beauties...

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