Root Vegetable Confit and Escarole Salad

This is the time for winter storage vegetables to shine – and what better way than showcase them than to prepare them simply and deliciously.

Normally when one thinks of confit, duck confit or perhaps pork belly come to mind. Maybe a strict traditionalist will argue it is not possible to confit vegetables – but I am using it as a process.

Humble carrots and parsnips transformed by cooking sous vide (if you don”t have the ability to sous vide – cook them very slowly in olive oil on the stove top or, you could mimic this recipe by simply slowly roasting the vegetables in the oven until quite soft and tender) into something somehow more carrot-y and pasnip-y.

Combine the sweet vegetables with bitter greens – I used escarole – a tangy vinaigrette, and crunchy toasted hazelnuts for a subtle and satisfying salad.

Here is how I did it.

Root Vegetable Confit and Escarole Salad

Serves 4

4-5 whole carrots washed (and peeled if you want) – cut in half lengthwise
3-4 whole parsnips washed (and peeled if you want – I did lightly peel mine) – cut in half lengthwise
2 Tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil divided See TIP below
1 head of Escarole, rinsed, drained and torn into bite-size pieces.
1 small shallot minced
1 Tablespoon (15 ml) Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons (30 ml) vinegar
Olive oil to taste
1/2 cup (125 ml) toasted hazelnuts
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place halved carrots in sous vide bag with 1 tablespoon olive oil then seal – See TIP below
2. Repeat process with parsnips
3. Sous vide for 1-3 hour at 85C – 187F
4. While root vegetables cook, combine minced shallot, Dijon mustard, and vinegar on a bowl. Whisk to combine
5. Drizzle in good quality olive oil while whisking to make a vinaigrette
6. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste, set aside
7. Roughly crush or chop toasted hazel nuts
8. When vegetables are cooked, remove from sous vide bag, allow to cool enough to handle
9. Put escarole in serving bowl, add enough vinaigrette to just coat, toss greens to fully coat
10. Cut confit’d vegetables into bite size pieces and arrange on dressed greens
11. Top with chopped toasted hazelnuts



This great salad is a super reason to eat your veggies!

Until next time Eat well & Keep Digging!

TIP

Pour a small amount of olive oil into a and put it in the freezer so you can spoon it out like soft ice cream. Doing it this way reduces the risk of your vacuum sealer sucking up oil.

Related posts:

Buckwheat, Kale and Roasted Root Vegetable Toss

Savory Vegan Oatmeal

Eat Garden to Table Because You Can!