Vegetables For vitality: root vegetables

Not only are root vegetables available during the winter, when other vegetables are not in season, they are also inexpensive and packed with nutrients and flavour. Here are some key root vegetables:

Celeriac or celery root is a knobby root that tastes like celery and has a crisp texture.

• It is low in calories and rich in phosphorus, potassium and vitamin C.
• Grate it fresh for salads or braise it in stock as a side dish, or dice it and add to soups.
• Scrub the root well and peel before cutting up for cooking or for raw vegetable platters.
• Roast celeriac in its skin and peel afterwards.
• Celeriac goes well with pork.

Jerusalem artichoke or sunchoke is a native American tuber.

• This gnarled root is packed with vitamin C, iron, fibre and calcium, and has a nutty taste and a crisp texture.
• Grated or sliced fresh, Jerusalem artichoke adds a smoky flavour and lots of crunch to salads and slaws.
• Dunk cut-up or peeled Jerusalem artichokes in cold water with lemon or lime juice to keep the flesh from turning brown.
• Do not use iron or aluminum cookware.
• Bake the vegetable for 30 to 60 minutes or boil for 10 to 20 minutes.
• Mash or purée the artichokes with parsley and other fresh herbs and a little butter or oil.
• For a side dish to accompany roasts, chops or chicken, braise with potatoes, carrots and celery in beef or chicken stock.
• Use slices in place of water chestnuts in stir-fries for both their flavour and crunchy texture.
• Despite the name, this vegetable is no relation of the spiky-leaved globe artichoke.

A Mexican tuber, the jicama has white flesh and a thin brown skin.

• It has a bland flavour and a juicy crispness more like an apple than a turnip.
• Fresh jicama slices – sprinkled with lime or lemon juice to keep them from browning – are a good addition to salads or to raw vegetable platters and add crunch to stir-fries.
• Jicama is rich in vitamin C and potassium, iron and calcium.
• Pick roots that feel heavy and peel the papery skin with a knife.
• Store in water in the refrigerator for up to a week.

This buff-coloured, fibrous, starchy root is the rhizome of the water lily.

• Slices of lotus root have a delicate lacy appearance because the rhizome is riddled with air tunnels.
• Slightly sweet-tasting, it is used raw in salads and cooked in stir-fries and soups.
• Whole roots can be refrigerated for up to a week.
• Lotus root can also be purchased canned, frozen and candied.

With tan skin and white flesh, salsify looks like a parsnip and is treated like parsnips in cooking.

• Its flavour is more like an oyster, however.
• A serving of 150 millilitres (about 2⁄3 cup) has 80 calories, Vitamin C and potassium.
• Salsify is available in fall and winter.

Turnips are one of the only vegetables that you can plant near potatoes, because potatoes tend to need lots of space to spread and grow and are poor garden companions.

There you have it -- a brief guide to root vegetables. Try adding these inexpensive, nutrient-packed vegetables to your everyday meals.

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