Hi Reader,

Every season has its glamour vegetable.
​
Summer gets tomatoes. Spring gets asparagus. Fall gets a basket of dirt-covered root vegetables and pumpkins, and it is still the season people talk about.
​
They're not flashy. Nobody's writing love songs about rutabagas. A sweet potato comes out of the ground looking like it came out of the ground, and a pumpkin is downright homely until a knife goes into it.
​
But give them forty-five minutes and real heat, and the sugar at the edges turns to caramel.
​
That's the part I wait for. A pan of carrots, parsnips, and onions comes out of the oven with dark, almost-burnt edges, and they get picked off before dinner. Even pumpkin, which spends far too much of its life destined for pie, turns rich, nutty, and savory under olive oil and Parmesan.
​
A bag of carrots, a squash, and a few parsnips cost less than almost anything else that ends up on the table. That is the other reason I keep making them.

The Root-Vegetable Rules

• Take the muddy ones. A root vegetable still wearing its field dirt keeps longer than a scrubbed one, and the good ones at the market usually look worse.
• Cut vegetables to similar sizes. Uniform pieces cook evenly, so you won't end up with some bites mushy and others still crunchy.
• Season generously, but simply. Olive oil, kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, and perhaps a little rosemary or thyme are often all you need. Anything more and you stop tasting the vegetable.
• Roast six kinds at once. Sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, beets, pumpkin, and potatoes each taste a little different, and a tray that runs the full range makes the simplest side feel abundant. Two trays, if the pieces are touching.
• Serve them hot. Roasted vegetables lose their edges the moment they sit. Get them to the table while the corners are still crackling. That first tray of the season is the one you'll remember.

WHAT'S INSIDE...

• ​Candied Sweet Potatoes​
• ​Roasted Caramelized Root Vegetables​
• ​Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Chickpeas​
• ​Roasted Pumpkin With Parmesan​
• ​Cheesy Pumpkin Potato Gratin​
• ​Mashed Potatoes & Root Vegetables​

​Candied Sweet Potatoes​

These candied sweet potatoes are basted in a sweetly spiced butter mixture and roasted until tender. A Southern classic.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Roasted Caramelized Root Vegetables​

These roasted caramelized root vegetables are versatile and pretty easy to whip up for dinner. Onions, parsnips, rutabagas, celery root, and almost any root veggie you can find makes a perfect candidate for this treatment.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Chickpeas​

These roasted sweet potatoes and chickpeas are cooked on a sheet pan until tender and tossed in coconut milk and lime dressing. An easy dinner

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Roasted Pumpkin With Parmesan​

Roasted pumpkin with Parmesan is simply roasted winter squash, whether pumpkin or butternut squash, with a little savory bling in the form of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Also So simple. So surprising. Here's how to roast your way to side dish satisfaction.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Cheesy Pumpkin Potato Gratin​

This cheesy pumpkin potato gratin is a perfect holiday side dish that layers tender potatoes with a creamy delicate pumpkin sauce that gives the dish a burnished autumn color. And with two types of cheese, how can you miss? Speaking of cheese, you can replace the Gouda with more Cheddar, or vice versa, if you wish.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Mashed Potatoes & Root Vegetables​

The combination of Yukon Gold potatoes and root vegetables, like carrots, turnips, or parsnips, comes together easily and makes a comforting and satisfying side dish. You can also cook these mashed potatoes and root vegetables in a slow-cooker for even more ease.

​☞ ​Try this recipe​