root-veggie pot pie

I love meals you can make in advance, either days in advance or mere hours.
Basically I love meals that make the dinner hour a little easier. Because at my house it is typically “the bewitching hour” —that mysterious time of day when everyone is transitioning from physical location and varying degrees of emotional stability. (Getting home from school/going to activities, getting home from work/going to meetings, getting up from naps/going to fall-apart on the floor, etc).

That said, even if your house boasts a considerably more calm dinner hour, this recipe is particularly tasty, easy to make, good for you, and pretty. All the necessary qualifications for a great meal.
Enjoy!

ROOT VEGGIE POT PIE 

1 large rutabaga (peeled and cubed)
2 sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
3 parsnips (peeled and cubed)
4 large carrots (peeled and cubed)
3 turnips (peeled and cubed)
1 cup + vegetable broth
1 onion, (peeled and diced)
1 teaspoon diced garlic
3 tablespoons clarified butter
salt and pepper top taste

CRUST:
1  3/4 Cup flour + 2 tablespoons (or as needed should the dough be too moist).
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

Start with this pie crust recipe and method. Mix it up, use the waxed-paper method to roll out and fit the bottom crust to the pie plate, and set it aside.
I use this recipe and method for every pie I make—sweet, savory, fruit, cream, or otherwise. It’s the only fail-proof pie crust recipe I’ve ever found and I’ll love it forever.

Once all of your root vegetables are peeled and cubed, melt butter in a large fry pan, add garlic and diced onion, and sauté until caramelized.
Then add all of the cubed root veggies, about 1/2 cup vegetable broth, cover, and simmer until broth is absorbed by the veggies. Add the rest of the broth, cover again, and cook. Veggies should be fork-tender by the time the remainder of the broth is absorbed. Feel free to adjust quantity of broth as needed. It will vary a bit based on the size of your veggies. Ultimately, your vegetables need to be tender enough to pierce with a fork but not mushy as they will continue to cook once inside the pie.

Once the veggies are ready and all of the broth is absorbed, sprinkle salt and pepper over the cooked vegetables until the flavor is to your liking. Then gently scrape the vegetable from the pan into the prepared crust. Roll out and fit the top crust to the pie using the waxed-paper method. Trim and crimp the edges, lightly sprinkle to top with salt and pepper, and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 40 minutes—until the crust is golden brown across the top.

Allow to rest and cool slightly for about 40 minutes. This will help the juices be re-absorbed into the cooked vegetables rather than spilling out of your crust when you cut into the pie.

Serve warm.

 

sweet potato hash with a soft egg

Potatoes and eggs are usually the ubiquitous American breakfast food, but if eating clean has taught me anything, it’s that anything can sub-in when it comes to meal norms. And this ‘typical’ breakfast food works just as well for dinner. Especially if you throw in a grilled steak topped with arugula, or something similar.

But for today, this was breakfast. And it was beautiful.
You can mix up the sides endlessly because sweet potatoes play nice with so many flavors and textures. Salad . . . fresh fruit . . . crudités . . .pickled beets . . . a few slices of uncured salami . . . there really is no end to the options.
In my case, it was yellow tomatoes and a slightly overripe avocado.
Hey, whatever works!
Enjoy.

SWEET POTATO HASH WITH A SOFT EGG

1 peeled and shredded sweet potato
1 teaspoon onion flakes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Peel and grate/shred one sweet potato and set aside.

In a skillet over med/high-high, heat olive oil until hot (but not smoking). toss in onion flakes and allow them to caramelize. Then toss in grated sweet potato and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Turn to coat with olive oil and allow the heat to brown the edges before scraping the pan, turning again, and allowing to brown once more. Scrape and brown the potato until it begins to crisp. Then, with a spoon, hollow out two “nests” in the bed of hash and crack one egg into each nest.

Slide the skillet into a 400-degree, preheated oven and bake the hash and eggs until the egg yokes are covered with a thin while film and the whites are firm.

Remove from oven and plate with fruit, veggies, or meat.

 

coconut-cream sweet potatoes and sausage with spinach pesto

I gave this dish a skeptical eye the first time I made it. It was one of those, “Well, the flavors all work together, technically” situations.  Sweet potatoes, salty meat, cool and refreshing pesto. Match made in . . . I don’t know . . . Candyland?
But you guys. You. Guys.
This tastes so much more amazing than I ever planed.
For real. I need to figure out a better presentation, perhaps. Something molded or towering. Because the pile-on-a-plate just doesn’t do this thing justice.

“What are you calling this?” my husband asked, mowing down his second helping.
“Don’t know,” I said. He nodded.
“Maybe go with something more descriptive than that?”
“Suggestions?”
“Candy.” He said. And he heaped another plate.
And there you go.
Enjoy!

COCONUT-CREAM SWEET POTATOES AND SAUSAGE WITH SPINICH PESTO

*Note: This is another one of those two-for-one recipes. I’ve linked the pesto recipe here.

2 large sweet potatoes
¼ coconut cream
a dash of salt
1 lb mild Italian sausage
4 tablespoons lemon-balsamic spinach pesto

Scrub 2 sweet potatoes and pierce skin with a sharp knife, allowing them to breathe while baking (so much better than exploding inside your oven). Place potatoes directly on the rack of a 400-degree preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. Make sure the burner is lined with foil as the potatoes will drip while baking.

In a flat bottom pan, cook 1 pound of mild Italian sausage until browned and crumbly. Drain and set aside.

Mix up a batch of lemon-balsamic spinach pesto.

When the potatoes are finished baking, allow them to cool, and then slice lengthwise and scoop out the baked interiors into a mixing bowl. Dispose of the peels. Add coconut cream and a dash of salt to the potatoes, and then with a hand mixer, blend until will incorporated and smooth.

Plate up in layers—potatoes on the bottom with Italian sausage spooned generously over top, and finished with the pesto.

 

 

spinach quiche with sweet-potato crust

Don’t you just love when you can make a breakfast meal that doubles as dinner? Two birds, one stone. Best thing ever. And this quiche is exactly that. Save, no birds die. Speaking figuratively is hard.
This quiche boasts a tiny bit of spice, courtesy of the salsa, but it’s mellowed by the eggs and spinach, transforming it into a savory dish more than heated one. The ‘crust,’ such as it is, can be either crispy or soft —a similar consistency as the filling, depending on how long you bake it before adding the filling. It’s your choice. Breakfast? Dinner? Crispy? Soft? Whatevs. It’s all delicious. Enjoy!

SPINACH QUICHE WITH SWEET-POTATO CRUST

Crust:
2 sweet potatoes, baked
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt

Quiche Filling:
8 eggs
1/2 cup water
½ pint jar of salsa, strained and liquid drained away
2 cups organic greens like spinach/arugula/kale/spring greens
salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning

Crust:
Scrub 2 sweet potatoes and pierce skin with a sharp knife, allowing them to breathe while baking (so much better than exploding inside your oven). Place potatoes directly on the rack of a 400-degree preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. Make sure the burner is lined with foil as the potatoes will drip while baking.

Slice baked and cooled potatoes lengthwise down the middle. Scoop potato into a mixing bowl and discard the skin. Add one egg and salt. Mix using a hand-mixer and then spread into the bottom of a greased baking dish or pie plate.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes or until spongy. Add a few minutes if you prefer a more crispy crust. Set aside while you mix up the filling.

Quiche filling:
In a large mixing bowl combine eggs, water, strained salsa, salt, pepper, and seasoning. Mix with a hand mixer until well incorporated. Add in greens and mix again on low. Pour contents over baked sweet potato crust.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until egg is baked through and lightly browned on top.

Note: This recipe makes enough crust and quiche for two 9” pie plates. Freeze one if you like!

Loaded paleo baked sweet potato

Sweet potatoes are one of those forgettable foods. On their own at least. I mean, sweet potatoes. I remember them at Thanksgiving when they are topped with marshmallows, and also when they’re cut into fries and served alongside a medium-rare burger. But other than that I often forget they’re even a thing.

But they are so stinking good for you, and this brightly-colored tuber (not a root, not a vegetable, what?!) is definitely worth remembering. Sweet, earthy, savory. And because they are whole30 compliant, they act as a nice base to a lot of different meals. This one included. Hopefully this dish will bring them to the forefront of your mind next time you’re looking for a satisfying, almost-comfort-food-category meal.
Enjoy!

LOADED PALEO BAKED SWEET POTATO

1lb grass-fed hamburger
2 cups homemade salsa
4 sweet potatoes/yams
2 tablespoons clarified butter
2 whole avocados
1/2 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon diced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Scrub sweet potatoes briskly and pierce each of them several times with a fork or sharp knife. This will allow them to breathe while baking. Place all four potatoes directly on the rack in a 400-degree preheated oven. Allow to bake for an hour or so, or until a fork easily pierces the skin and they are browning. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

In a large sauté pan, melt clarified butter and sauté garlic and onions until caramelized. Add hamburger and cook through. Drain off excess liquid and then add one cup of salsa. Cover and allow to simmer for a few minutes until well incorporated. Drain excess liquid off a second time. Set aside.

Slice each of the potatoes lengthwise and lay each one open-face on a plate. Top generously with hamburger, remaining salsa, and sliced avocados—one half avocado per potato. Sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired. Serve hot.

—Makes four potatoes

Spiced pumpkin and sweet potato soup

It’s here.
You can now start using words like “crisp” and “spice.”
Orange and red and gold are back in vogue.
Wool socks and sweaters, scarves, boots that button and zip and lace—all of these in any combination are perfectly suitable attire for pretty much anything.
And the food. Oh the food. This is the season I live for, as a foodie. And if you’re going to start Autumn off right, in my humble opinion, it might as well be with a lovely pot of savory soup. This particular pot is an excellent place to start. —Smooth like a bisque but not overly-heavy. Savory but not too rich. Vegetarian, but hearty enough for your typical meat-lover. And when hedged with a rustic bread and a pat of warm butter, fall can be officially ushered in.
Happy First Day of Autumn!

SPICED PUMPKIN AND SWEET POTATO SOUP

3 Tbsp clarified butter
1 onion, diced
1 Tbsp diced garlic
1.5 Tea ground ginger
1 Tea ground thyme
1 Tea salt
.5 Tea black pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
2 baked sweet potatoes
3.5 cups puréed pumpkin
1.5 cups coconut milk

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add onion and simmer until caramelized. Add garlic, ginger, thyme and mix well. Add vegetable broth, sweet potato, (baked, peeled and cubed) and pumpkin. With an immersion blender, purée until thick and smooth. Add coconut milk, stirring over heat until soup is heated through and desired thickness. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Serve sprinkled with cinnamon and topped with pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!