If you are looking for a really good vegetable dish with outstanding flavors, use this recipe from “Plenty’ a best-selling vegetarian cookbook. The combination of roasted vegetables, herbs with lemon and capers is incredible. It is a little complicated, but I promise it is worth it. I am eternally grateful to Sherry, my sister, whose sense of creativity led her to suggest this dish because it just doesn’t get any better than this. 

Introduced as part of our holiday meal, it is a wonderful dish that you can add to any dinner party. I have served it to the Riverside Resistance Revival Chorus Board in the winter months, when root vegetables are in season. Members of this group have special diets, which makes this a perfect dish to serve.

I served this dish to Kris Lovekin, one of my favorite dinner guests, who is now the director for the chorus. When gauging how good a recipe is, I usually wait to hear subtle sounds like ‘mmmm’ when people eat. This isn’t Kris Lovekin’s style. She is a writer and communicates her admiration with words. She openly shares with her friends and family just how awesome she finds coming over to my house for a meal and the good times she has at my home.  It is an honor to cook this meal for her.

Recipe from Yottam Ottolenghi (Adapted) – Serves – 6

Ingredients

• 4 Parsnips (1 ½ lb total)
• 4 red onions, medium
• 2/3 C Olive oil
• 4 Thyme sprigs
• 2 Rosemary sprigs (about 3 inches per sprig)
• 1 Head garlic, halved horizontally
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 Medium sweet potatoes (1 ¼ lb total)
• 30 Cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 T Lemon juice
• 4 T Small capers (roughly chopped if large)
• ½ T Maple syrup
• ½ t Dijon mustard
• 1 T Toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Peel the parsnips and cut into two or three segments, depending on their lengths. Then cut each piece lengthways into two or four. You want pieces roughly two inches long and a half inch wide. Peel onions and cut into six wedges. 
• Place the parsnips and onions in a large mixing bowl and add a half cup olive oil, the thyme, rosemary, garlic, one teaspoon salt and some pepper. Mix well and spread out in a large roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes.
• While the parsnips are cooking, trim both ends of the sweet potatoes. Cut them (with their skins) width ways in half, then each half into six wedges. Add the potatoes to the pan with the parsnips and onions, stir well.  Return to the oven to roast for a further 40 to 50 minutes. 
• When all the vegetables are cooked through and have taken on a golden color, stir in the halved tomatoes. Roast for 10 minutes more. 
• Meanwhile, whisk together the lemon juice, capers, maple syrup, mustard, remaining two tablespoon oil and half teaspoon salt.
• Pour the dressing over the roasted vegetables as soon as you take them out of the oven. Stir well, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Scatter the sesame seeds over the vegetables if using and serve at the table in the roasting pan.