Potato And Autumn Vegetable Hash

This recipe is billed as a Thanksgiving side in the November issue of Bon Appetit. If you can get your guests to give up the usual candied yams and mashed potatoes or get them to eat this too, you might want to try it for a stunning sideshow to your roasted turkey.

I just made it to bring for my work lunch because it's full of great vegetables that I love. I feel bad that it didn't get all the attention it's due. But at least I can share it with you here, and you can see all the beautiful, indescribable colors in the dish. And maybe you'll make it yourself and then you'll taste the extraordinary, integrated flavors of the veggies.

I tried two weekends in a row to get Chioggia beets, those candy-striped ones. I was disappointed I couldn't find them because I've never had them before and because I thought their cute candy stripe would add something to the appearance of the dish. I also couldn't find baby beets, which clearly would have been much cuter.

The recipe suggests all golden beets if you can't find Chioggia beets, but I went with golden and red. But if you're making this for someone other than just yourself (or you're not serving it right away), you may want to stick with all golden beets. The red ones will eventually turn the rest of the vegetables pink.

I also didn't want to use the beet greens -- I'm not a huge fan -- so I threw in a few handfuls of baby spinach instead.

Potato and Autumn Vegetable Hash (adapted from Bon Appetit, November 2009)

Ingredients

Herb oil:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (forgot to buy this and used some dried oregano)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Hash:
3 golden beets
2 red beets
1 2-pound butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch or 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch or 1-inch cubes
1 pound garnet yams or other yams peeled, cut into 1/2-inch or 1-inch cubes
4 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 or 3 handfuls of baby spinach, not cooked

Preparation

For herb oil:
Whisk all ingredients in small bowl. Set aside.

For hash:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut greens and stems off all beets (if attached); discard. Scrub beets; place in 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Pour half of herb oil over beets; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover baking dish with foil and roast beets until tender when pierced with small sharp knife, about 1 hour.


Remove from oven and let beets stand until cool enough to handle. Peel beets; cut into 1/2-inch pieces and reserve.


Increase oven temperature to 375°F. Combine squash, potatoes, and yams in large bowl. Add remaining herb oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Spread vegetable mixture evenly on large rimmed baking sheet (I just threw them in a dish and tossed them occasionally). Roast until vegetables are tender when pierced with knife and lightly browned around edges, stirring and turning vegetables occasionally, about 50 minutes.


Stir beets and baby spinach into roasted vegetables; dot with butter cubes and continue to roast just until beets are heated through, 5 to 10 minutes.


Then serve! Or if you're like me, portion it into plastic containers, so you can bring it for lunch. It's still good after being rewarmed in the microwave. The herb oil gives the veggies more flavor, and the sweetness of the beets enhances the whole dish. If you want to keep it healthier, I'm sure you could skip the butter and just add a bit more olive oil.


What are your favorite autumn veggies?