Vary this recipe according to the vegetables in your bin and the number of people you’re feeding. Just be sure to cut the vegetables so they roast at an even rate: Quick-cooking, higher-moisture roots like carrots, turnips, parsnips, and potatoes should be left larger, while dense, slow-cooking types like beets, celeriac, and rutabagas should be cut into smallish chunks. You should have about 1-1/2 to 2 cups each of parsnips, carrots, beets, and turnips. Red beets give the paler vegetables a pretty pink tinge, while golden beets, which are also nice, won’t bleed onto the other vegetables. In place of the butter and oil, you can use all olive oil or all clarified butter. Serves six.
1/2 lb. parsnips, peeled and cut into 2×1/2-inch sticks
3 to 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2×1/2-inch sticks
2 medium turnips, peeled and cut into large wedges
3 medium beets, peeled and cut into large (3/4-inch) dice
10 to 12 cloves garlic
12 to 15 small white boiling onions or 1 cup pearl onions (walnut-size), peeled
3 sprigs fresh rosemary or thyme
3 small bay leaves
2-1/2 Tbs. melted unsalted butter
1-1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oven to 400°F. Dump the vegetables into a large, low-sided roasting pan or onto a heavy, rimmed baking sheet; they should be just one layer deep. Toss in the herbs and drizzle on the butter and oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat the vegetables evenly. Roast, tossing with a spatula a few times, until the vegetables are very tender and browned in spots, about 50 min., discard the bay leaves. Serve warm.