3 easy recipes for salsify and scorzonera

I love root vegetables, and these are amongst my favourites. The delicate lightly sweet taste that remind of artichoke and sweed is just so delicious !

To know more than just how to cook those odd vegetables do look at the ingrédients post here...

Here are a few easy way to prepare them... Adding raw potatoes to the cooking water makes them more digest.

Do wear gloves to peel them to avoid getting your fingers stained and sticky, and drop into fresh water with lemon juice or vinegar to avoid yellowing.

Boil then roast: Place into boiling water and cook till half cooked. Split in two lengthwise, coat in olive oil or plain oil, sprinkle with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper and roast in oven till cooked through.

Boil then flash pan:  Place into boiling water and cook till almost cooked through. Drain and pan fry in a little butter and add chopped flat parsley before serving.

As a salad: Shred and immediately stir dressing into it to stop from yellowing. Dressing: 2 parts Lemon or red wine vinegar, 6 parts oil, salt & pepper.

Gratin: Place into boiling water and cook till fully cooked. Dispose in a buttered ovenproof dish. Cover with white sauce and cheese and bake till golden.

These vegetables are also called "le chagrin des filles de cuisine". "Kitchen girl's pains". Quite an appropriate name at a time when kitchen gloves were not available. In those days preparing such roots meant getting sticky hands. And to make it worst they would remain stained and dirty looking for a while afterward.