fresh sausage, kale & roasted root vegetable medley.

coming back after a lonnng recipe hiatus with a meal that seems sooo snoozy, but nourishing and scrumptious, actually.

boring new mom alert!

jumping from the last recipe that i posted well over a year ago, frozen almond joy, to roasted fall root vegetables….says a lot about how my brain has changed after becoming a mom this spring. i’m just trying to slowly dip my toes back into all the things i used to do…

i love our sweet little bebe to pieces, but my my how life has changed!

anyway, hopefully more fun recipes to come now that i’ve somewhat figured out how to exist with a baby in tow!

as the fall quickly turns into winter in the northwest (it snowed this week!!), these warm colorful root veggies really warmed our souls after we threw this all together with produce from a local farm stand.

plus, we added local fresh sausages and two kinds of cheeeeeeese.

this meal was super hearty. you could make it as a side dish, or just eat a larger portion as your actual meal, which we did and were totally satisfied.

a recipe like this is quite easy to throw together, just some chopping required, and that’s pretty much it!

i chopped up some of the green carrot tops to toss into the mix - it seems insane to throw out all the green carrot tops when they are perfectly edible. they’re like a mild parsley.

just a note that the sausages i used were uncooked when i added them to the sheet pan. if you want to use pre-cooked sausage, get the veggies roasting first and add the cooked sausage to the mix later on.

something magical happens when onion & garlic infuse into these root veggies along with herby salt or other herbs of your choosing. plus the addition of huge parmigiano reggiano shards, melted into little whisps all over the veggies. then topped with crumbled feta! mmm mmm, heartwarming. i LOVED the addition of the fresno pepper the first time i made this. it was like a sweet spicy heat that was very welcome amongst the grounded, earthy fall root veg.

i set aside a full container of chopped onion, beet and carrot when i first made this because chopping all these vegetables at once yielded a LOT. i would just recommend chopping and adding in the potatoes right before you’re going to roast them, so they don’t get oxidized and gross n’ brown.

this is totally customizable with what herbs, spices, cheeses or toppings that you’ve got on hand! fresh rosemary and/or thyme would be great tossed throughout, but i used an herby salt that really kicked up the overall flavors.

& how gorgeous are red beets!?! no lack of coloUr or flavor in this simple fall & winter sheet pan meal!

Fresh Sausage, Kale & Roasted Root Vegetable Medley

Serves 2-4

Total Time: 45 minutes // Baking Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2-3 fresh hot pork link sausages, sliced or removed from casings and crumbled

• 1 large red beet, chopped into small cubes

• 3-4 large carrots, chopped into small cubes

• 1 cup of chopped carrot tops

• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced

• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 pound small red and/or yellow gold potatoes, chopped into small cubes

• 1 bunch lacinato kale, chopped

• 1 medium red fresno pepper, sliced into thin rings

• shaved parmigiano reggiano cheese

• kosher salt or herb salt of choice

• freshly ground black pepper

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• feta cheese crumbles or goat cheese (chevre)

• pistachios, pepitas or walnuts, chopped (optional)

Instructions -

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Chop the kale and green carrot tops, setting aside for later. Chop all the root vegetables, aromatics and raw sausage as instructed, placing on the baking sheet as you go.

Drizzle everything on the baking sheet with olive oil and a few hefty pinches of kosher salt or an herbed salt. Toss well with tongs until all components are lightly coated in oil, evenly distributed and spread out into one layer.

Roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss everything well, testing a potato to see if its tender. Top with the chopped kale and carrot tops, tossing again to distribute. Shave large shards of fresh parmigiano reggiano cheese all over the veggies, and return to the oven for 5 more minutes.

Remove from the oven when the parmigiano shards are melty and the kale is tender but not too crisp. Serve up in bowls with plenty of black pepper and herbed salt to taste, crumbled feta or chevre, and chopped pistachios, pepitas or walnuts, if desired.

qp

carrot ginger parsnip soup with crispy shallots, bacon & goat cheese.

long title soup = extra flavor soup!

this recipe is sort of out of my comfort zone in a few ways...but i have enjoyed it so much! 

i never really fancy just a plain ol' bowl of liquidy soup. i always want some sort of texture or something to chew on. enter crispy shallots, bacon crumbles and chives. and goat cheese for extra creamy flavor.

part 2 of dancing a wee bit outside of my comfort zone is using yellow curry powder in this soup! i weirdly don't really enjoy the flavor or smell of indian curries. i can see why people think its warm and flavorful and delicious, but its just not my cup of tea somehow. i want to like it. in the same way i want to like seafood, but i just don't. wahh.

but! i had some sort of soup last fall with just a touch of curry powder in it, and i felt it made sense. it gave the soup a little something extra without being overpoweringly curry-like. and it worked fabulously in this carrot ginger soup. woo! baby steps, y'all.

um, also... i made this soup way back in octoberrrrrr. the original photos i took were in much bigger bowls and it just didn't make sense at all. you'd nevvver eat that amount of soup in one sitting. it just took me ages to get around to getting much shallower bowls. actually, these are plates, haha! but its the perfect serving size for a rich soup like this.

the good news about my procrastination here is that i know that this soup recipe freezes very well and you can thaw it out months later and jazz it up with all the toppings!

the toppings are really where its at for me. the crispy shallots not only make the kitchen smell AmAhhHhhZiNg, but they taste amahzing with the rich carrot parsnip ginger combo. bacon, because...bacon. chives because, greenery. & the goat cheese is definitely key.

so really...don't skip the goat cheese or the crispy shallots.

they're what make this soup worth soupin'!

how beautiful is the soup with the curry powder and cayenne! ooooh that colouuuuur. ^^^

right now i'm on the mend from my 2nd gum grafts surgery, cuz i'm a g-ma at heart and i prefer walnuts in my brownies and i've always truly loved werther's originals, raisins, and grape nuts. see also: genetics & having had braces a long time and stuff. anyhoo, dental surgeries ain't the most fun.

and this soup has really saved me the last couple days. i can only have verrrrry soft foods for a little while, and apple sauce gets old v v fast. i've been having some of this soup with my go-to goat cheese buy, the TJ's goat cheese trio! specifically, the garlic & herb goat cheese. i heat up some soup in a pan and melt some of the garlic herb goat cheese and stir it in.  i can't have any crunchy delicious toppings right now, but i've been seriously delighted in the deliciousness that is the garlic herb goat cheese + carrot ginger parsnip soup. i think its a lot of sage in the TJ's herby goat cheese, and it REEEEALLY hits the spot. so much flavor. i don't even know who i am getting so freaking excited about soup. 

Carrot, Ginger, & Parsnip Soup with Crispy Shallots, Bacon & Goat Cheese

Time: 45 minutes (Roasting can be done in advance to save time)

Yields about 6 cups of soup

Ingredients:

For the Soup-

• 1.5 pounds organic carrots, washed and peeled (about 8 medium/large carrots)
• 2 medium parsnips, washed and peeled
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 TB. olive oil
• 1 cup 2% milk, or plain milk alternative
• 4 cups water
• 1 TB. white vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4" knob of ginger (about 1/3 cup chopped), peeled and chopped, + extra for zesting
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp. yellow curry powder
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• chopped chives, for topping

For Crispy Shallots:

• 1 shallot clove, sliced into rings
• 1 TB. olive oil
• 2 TB. flour + pinch of black pepper

Bacon!:

• 4-6 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped into bits

Goat Cheese drizzle:

• 4 TB. goat cheese
• 2 TB. olive oil
• 4 TB. water
• OR: heat the amount of soup you want to serve and melt/stir in your desired amount of goat cheese

Instructions-

For Soup:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Wash, peel, and halve the carrots and parsnips. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and a drizzle of olive oil. Spread the carrots and parsnips around the pan. Add another light drizzle of olive oil over the top and season with salt.

Roast the carrots & parsnips for 30 minutes, removing from the oven and flipping them over half way through the roast.  Let them cool about 5 minutes before adding to the food processor.

***While veggies are roasting, cook & chop the bacon, and make the crispy shallots.

Place slightly cooled roasted carrots and parsnips in a large food processor. Add vegetable broth, olive oil, milk, and half the amount of water (2 cups). Run food processor on high speed until the veggies become smooth.

Add vinegar, salt, chopped ginger, garlic clove, curry powder, and cayenne. Run food processor until everything looks smooth and incorporated.

The food processor will be very full at this point. Transfer the soup to a large pan or stock pot on medium/low heat. Add the other 2 cups of water and stir well. 

***For Crispy Shallots:

Heat a small pan to medium/low heat with a TB of olive oil. Peel the exterior off the shallot and discard. Slice the shallot into 1/8 inch thick rings. Add 2 TB of flour and some cracked black pepper to a small bowl. While the shallots are still freshly chopped and wet, coat the rings in the flour/pepper mixture. Add the rings to the heated olive oil. Let them crisp on one side for about 2-3 minutes, then carefully flip to the other side to crisp. They are done when they are browned. Be careful to not let them blacken. Remove from the pan with a fork and let them drain on a paper towel. 

For best results, add a hearty drizzle of goat cheese to the bottom of the soup bowl. Spoon the desired amount of hot carrot soup into the bowl. Top with plenty of goat cheese drizzle, bacon crumbles, crispy shallot rings, and fresh chives. Enjoy!

qp