Contributed by Jennifer Peachey

'Tis the season for tubers and roots. No, these are not this year's coveted Christmas gifts, but the season's abundant harvest.

Tubers and roots refer to the edible part of the plants that grow below the ground. Included in this group are popular vegetables like the potato and obscure ones like the malanga. Of the more than a dozen tubers and roots, almost all have white or cream-coloured flesh. The few exceptions are beets, carrots, sweet potatoes and some potatoes.

White vegetables contain a pigment called anthoxanthin. To enhance this colour, you can add an acid ingredient, such as tomatoes, while cooking. Overcooking, or the addition of an alkaline substance, will turn them yellow or brown. Some white vegetables, including parsnips, salsify, and Jerusalem artichokes, will turn brown when peeled or cut. Immediately soaking them in lemon or vinegar water will prevent this.

Tubers and roots have a hard, fibrous flesh making them suitable for long storage. Beets can keep up to four weeks in the refrigerator and carrots up to three weeks. Potatoes, stored at a maximum temperature of 39 degrees F, can keep for up to nine months. Carrots and Jerusalem artichokes can be stored, unwashed, in sand for at least one month (up to six months for carrots).

Many of our winter comfort foods like stews and soups use tubers and roots because of their late season availability. And on this grey, rainy, fall afternoon, I can almost taste them. 'Tis the season.

HOW MANY WAYS CAN YOU SERVE A POTATO?

1. Bake potatoes for one hour in the oven. Cut in half, scoop out flesh. Cut skins in three strips, coat with olive oil and bake for ten minutes. Serve hot with salsa.

2. Mash the flesh of the potatoes (from above) and add horseradish for a quick Potatoes Anna.

3. Dice unpeeled cooked potatoes, mix with light mayonnaise, fresh dill and onions, for an easy salad.

4. Boil whole potatoes until tender. Slice into french fry wedges and bake in oven until crisp. Can be coated with olive oil and spices.

5. Coarsely chop and boil potatoes until tender. Drain and fry in olive oil with onions and chili powder.

6. Cover potatoes with vegetable or chicken stock. Add onions or leeks and garlic. Boil until cooked. Puree, adding more stock if needed, for a thick creamy soup.

6. Dice in a stew.

7. Grate into a rosti with other roots and tubers. (See recipe in "vegetable side dishes" section)

Ingredients

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Instructions

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