Ah, February. For those of you who are still trying to eat seasonally, the lowly root vegetable is probably wearing out its welcome. Luckily, Nick Mahood, the executive chef at Cloudland Farm, a working farm and restaurant in Woodstock, Vt., has the cure for tuber boredom: his Cloudland winter vegetable hash recipe.
Mahood is an expert at serving locally grown food — twice a week, he must create and serve a menu on what is seasonally available at the farm and by local farmers. “You have to be creative with what you have and, during the winter months, almost invent something out of nothing,” he admits.
For his hash recipe, Mahood recommends serving it with anything braised or to make a bed of the hash and serve a nice steak on top of it. “It’s a hearty recipe, perfect for when it’s cold out, plus it spices up the ordinary potato a bit,”?he says.
Vegetable hash
Ingredients:
8 ounce sweet potatoes
8 ounce Yukon gold potatoes
8 ounce parsnips
8 ounce butternut squash
1-2 large red bell pepper
10-15 brussels sprouts (depending on size)
Bacon fat
Butter
Salt & pepper
Method:
1. Peel both kinds of potatoes, squash and parsnips.
2. Dice into ½ inch cubes
3. Blanch each separately in boiling salted water until tender but still crisp (note:?each vegetable will take a different amount of time, so it is important to do each separately).
4. Shock in ice water to stop the cooking, drain and reserve.
5. Dice the red pepper and reserve.
6. Quarter the brussels sprouts and saute in bacon fat or butter until tender and showing some color/browning. Reserve.
7. To finish, heat a saute pan large enough to hold all the vegetables on high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter then the diced red pepper, cook until they begin to soften. Then add the potatoes, squash and parsnips. Cook until these develop some color. Finish with the sauteed brussels sprouts and season.
