“in the middle of dead winter” – gosh I think everyone knows instinctively what this means. And indeed when you eat seasonal and local produce, winter can be daunting and quite frankly boring. I love root veg but 4 times a week requires a bit of novelty. Hassle-back baking them in the oven gives them a beautiful crispness.
HASSLE – BACK – is a Swedish way to bake potatoes by slicing thinly into the potatoes till halfway and topping them with pretty much anything.
ROOT VEGETABLES – I used sweet potatoes, parsnip, carrots, beetroot and potatoes ( and a few onions). But this technique works well with butternut, pumpkin, celeriac and turnips. Basically any hard root vegetable that normally would require to be parboiled or a long bake, can be sliced to cook fast and crisp up.
NOTE:
- Use 2 wooden spoon handles to guide you while you slice, so you are not able to slice all the way through.
- Top the veggies with chopped fresh thyme or rosemary. Add a little sour cream or yogurt dressing to make it fresh.
- For a veggie lunch or dinner: serve the hassle-back veg with any winter leave like radicchio or grains like rice or freekeh or with seeds like quinoa.
My hassle-back root vegetables
Yield 4 portions
Ingredients
- root veg like beetroot, parsnip, carrots, sweet potato, potato, ...
- 2 table spoons of vegetable oil
Instructions
- Scrub clean the root veg, peel when needed. Cut in half or quarters.
- Slice the back of each cut veg thinly almost to the end but not all the way.
- Splash oil over the veg, season with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven at 180 C for 30-40 minutes. Serve immediately when out of the oven.
Notes
by Sandra Slawinski on www.leeksandhighheels.com
Written and photographed by Sandra Slawinski without commercial deals, I used my plate Royal Boch vintage from my fiend Pascale’s family, spoon & towel Dille & Kamille
