This week I had the pleasure of representing the Saratoga Farmers' Market at the March of Dimes Signature Event held at Vapor.
What an amazing fun food event (12 local chefs, 6 competing in an Iron Chef-type format and 300 plus guests eating, talking and watching the Chefs go at it). The best part was that all these people came to raise money for a good cause. As much as I was honored that the market was asked to participate, the angst of deciding what to prepare and to be sure it provided a sample of great market product at its best, was difficult. Lucky for me, I have two very talented chef-friends who are experienced in feeding delicious samples to large numbers; Susan Quilio (Spoonful Catering) and Rocco Verrigni (SCC Culinary Professor).
Susan suggested a fall salad of greens garnished with roasted root vegetables as well as a more traditional salad and I went to work with the help of Rocco. The fall salad was a hit with the appreciative crowd and I share it with you now (pared down to family-size quantity).
Ingredients
3 large carrots
2 turnips or 2 parsnips
(or one of each)
2 large beets
2 thin-skinned potatoes
l butternut squash
1 large yellow onion
4 garlic cloves
2 - 4 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup Ballston Lake Apiaries'
Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 tsp. rosemary
salt and pepper
2 tbsp Blueberry Honey
(BL Apiaries)
Mixed greens
(with Shredded Cabbage
optional)
Directions
Wash/scrub all vegetables thoroughly and peel the beets and squash (and de-seed squash). Dice all veggies into 1/4 inch size and put in a large bowl and toss with the diced garlic, the vinaigrette, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Set oven to 375, and melt butter in a large shallow roasting pan. When melted, remove pan from oven and add contents from bowl, stirring so all is lightly covered with butter. Put the pan back in oven and roast until all veggies are tender, but not mushy. About 10 minutes into the roasting, stir veggies around. At 20 minutes, stir in the honey and roast for another 5 minutes or until done. Let cool (overnight is fine)*. Serve over shredded mixed greens and cabbage and add a touch of the Balsamic Vinaigrette for taste and moisture.
One of the nice things about this recipe is you can vary it wildly with what root veggies you have on hand and it always tastes great. *The other handy thing is you can serve roasted root vegetables straight from the oven, hot one day, save the leftovers in the refrigerator and then use it as here, as a garnish for a great fall salad.
I would be remiss not to thank all the Farmers' Market Vendors who contributed to this great dish: Pleasant Valley Farm, Roe and Toe, Stannards, Kilpatrick Family Farm, Dennisons' and Sheldon Farms. And to the other vendors who contributed to the March of Dimes traditional salad mix: Argyle Cheese Factory, Longview Farm, Malta Orchards and Gardens, Sushan Hydroponics, West Village Market. After all, it's the fresh ingredients that give the salads their robust high quality flavor.
Susan suggested a fall salad of greens garnished with roasted root vegetables as well as a more traditional salad and I went to work with the help of Rocco. The fall salad was a hit with the appreciative crowd and I share it with you now (pared down to family-size quantity).
Ingredients
3 large carrots
2 turnips or 2 parsnips
(or one of each)
2 large beets
2 thin-skinned potatoes
l butternut squash
1 large yellow onion
4 garlic cloves
2 - 4 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup Ballston Lake Apiaries'
Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 tsp. rosemary
salt and pepper
2 tbsp Blueberry Honey
(BL Apiaries)
Mixed greens
(with Shredded Cabbage
optional)
Directions
Wash/scrub all vegetables thoroughly and peel the beets and squash (and de-seed squash). Dice all veggies into 1/4 inch size and put in a large bowl and toss with the diced garlic, the vinaigrette, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Set oven to 375, and melt butter in a large shallow roasting pan. When melted, remove pan from oven and add contents from bowl, stirring so all is lightly covered with butter. Put the pan back in oven and roast until all veggies are tender, but not mushy. About 10 minutes into the roasting, stir veggies around. At 20 minutes, stir in the honey and roast for another 5 minutes or until done. Let cool (overnight is fine)*. Serve over shredded mixed greens and cabbage and add a touch of the Balsamic Vinaigrette for taste and moisture.
One of the nice things about this recipe is you can vary it wildly with what root veggies you have on hand and it always tastes great. *The other handy thing is you can serve roasted root vegetables straight from the oven, hot one day, save the leftovers in the refrigerator and then use it as here, as a garnish for a great fall salad.
I would be remiss not to thank all the Farmers' Market Vendors who contributed to this great dish: Pleasant Valley Farm, Roe and Toe, Stannards, Kilpatrick Family Farm, Dennisons' and Sheldon Farms. And to the other vendors who contributed to the March of Dimes traditional salad mix: Argyle Cheese Factory, Longview Farm, Malta Orchards and Gardens, Sushan Hydroponics, West Village Market. After all, it's the fresh ingredients that give the salads their robust high quality flavor.
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