Maple Miso Root Vegetable Medley

This Sunday, we are cooking with root veggies. (Thanks to Mayuri for hosting!) One of the most universally fantastic ways to cook them, in my opinion, is roasting. It unlocks flavors that other methods can lack. Hello, you wonderful Maillard browning reaction. Of course roasting itself is wonderful, but you can also kick it up a notch with a little flavor bomb tossed on when they are done! We have done maple Dijon before, this time we are trying out maple, Dijon, and miso from the wonderful South River Miso company. (Not sponsored, I just love their miso and this recipe is adapted from them.)

This time I also added some purple sweet potato and fennel, both for color and to use up. Purple carrots would be great too. And because of our super mild winter, I was able to go out and cut some fresh time for the dressing! Yummy.

Now fair warning, this dressing packs a punch, so add it to taste. The first time we made this, it kind of overpowered the roasty veggies, and we want to taste those! So for us, the dressing amount has been reduced from the original recipe. You'd be surprised just how much roasty veggies cook down. Don't be fooled by huge piles of chopped veggies, it will reduce a lot, another reason to dress to taste.

Maple Miso Root Vegetable Medley
serves 5-6

2 large rutabagas (or turnips, I prefer rutabaga)
3 large carrots
2 yellow potatoes
1 celeriac root (optional, ugly but tasty!)
2 onions
1 bulb of garlic, peeled into cloves
2 cups cremini or other mushrooms
olive oil or avocado oil
salt and pepper
¼-⅓ cup light miso (I used a combo of azuki bean miso, white miso, and garlic red pepper miso)
1½ tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp whole grain Dijon style mustard
1 tbsp mirin (optional)
1 tbsp brown rice vinegar
2 tbsp thyme, fresh (lemon or lime are fantastic if you have them)
2 green onions or fresh parsley or chives to serve

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Cut the carrots on the bias, large dice/wedge the rutabaga, celeriac, and potato, and wedge the onions. Try to keep the sizes of the pieces similar. Cut the mushrooms into quarters. Combine the carrots, celeriac, rutabaga, and potatoes in a bag or bowl.

Drizzle over olive/avocado oil, salt and pepper and toss to combine.

Arrange the carrots, celeriac, potatoes, and rutabaga in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes or until soft and tender on the inside and browned on the outside. Baking time will be extended if the veggies are crowded.

Meanwhile, place the mushrooms, onions, and garlic in the same bag or bowl as the potatoes, and drizzle and season, tossing to combine. Place them on a separate lined baking sheet and start to roast after the potato mixture has been in the oven for 10 minutes. Roast the mushrooms, onions and garlic for 20 minutes until the onions and garlic have softened and colored.

Watch the vegetables while roasting and stir/turn after 15 minutes. If they are all nearly done after 30 minutes, turn down to oven to 375º and check them at 5 minute intervals.

While the veggies roast, make maple miso mixture. Combine the miso, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, mirin, vinegar and thyme in a dish.

When all vegetables are sufficiently roasted, gently toss/fold together in a large bowl with enough of the maple miso mixture to lightly coat, and serve. Garnish with chopped green onion, chives, or parsley as desired.