Every year for the holidays, I tend to make the same dishes over and over again (mashed potatoes, scalloped pineapple, sweet potato casserole, scalloped corn). This could be the case because I like to make traditional dishes that came from my grandma’s recipes, or it could just be that going with “ol’ trusty” is the easiest option.
This year I had three Thanksgiving dinners to attend, and felt like changing it up- for at least one dinner, anyway. I saw a roasted root vegetable medley that caught my eye somewhere on the internet and I thought I’d try my hand at it.
I made a list of some good hearty root veggies that I thought would go well together, butternut squash (not a root vegetable but hearty all the same), beets, parsnips, carrots, onions and sweet potatoes. I wanted to do something different with the flavor besides a plain old herbed butter. I always like a hint of sweetness to go with my carrots- so I figured a ginger-brown sugar-bourbon glaze would do the trick. Turned out pretty yummy! This recipe is super simple- the most time consuming part was preparing the vegetables. I even bought a pre-cut medley of cubed sweet potatoes, beets and butternut squash. I used two packages, totaling about 4 cups.
Also, fresh herbs make all the difference with this! I just bought a box of poultry herbs and only used the rosemary and thyme. I left the sage out. . . because I despise it and it smells like a nursing home cafeteria.
- 4 c cubed winter veggie mix (this one was in the produce already prepared and packaged)
- 8 lb carrots, julienned
- 1 large parsnip, peeled, cored and julienned
- 4 cloves chopped garlic
- 2 large white onions, chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- handful of fresh rosemary
- handful of fresh thyme
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 heaping tablespoon freshly grated ginger (using a microplane so it is very fine- almost a paste)
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp bourbon
- Prep all veggies and place in large mixing bowl.
- Add olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs.
- Toss, divide and spread evenly on two foil lined cookie sheets.
- Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
- While veggies are baking, melt butter in a small saucepan.
- Whisk in bourbon, ginger and brown sugar until dissolved.
- Take veggies out of oven, drizzling with bourbon ginger mixture.
- Toss veggies in mixture until coated.
- Put back into oven for 20 minutes.
- Serve warm.
- I used two pans for the veggies because it's important to spread them out evenly on the pan. If they are stacked or too close together, they will steam and wont have any caramelization- which is important for this dish!
The combination of ginger, bourbon, brown sugar and butter make this dish the perfect combination of sweet and savory. I’ll keep this recipe in my holiday recipe box from now on- we still have Christmas to go so I might even make it again yet this year! What are your favorite holiday dishes?
