How to Cook Fall Vegetables

by Jessica Hulett
The harvest season's crops boast the same colors found on the trees' changing leaves -- the rich red of beets, the dazzling orange of pumpkin and carrots, the earthy brown of mushrooms and the deep green of broccoli and collards. Fall vegetables are the ones we celebrate around the Thanksgiving table, the hearty ones that warm your body for the long, cold winter ahead. To usher in Autumn, try a fresh crop of recipes, tips and tricks.

Rachel Been

Carrots
Carrots are perhaps the most versatile of the root vegetables with their sweet, rich flavor and vibrant color. They are one of the most important vegetables in stocks, and are frequently cut into bite-sized pieces to be added to soups and stews. They can be steamed for seven to ten minutes, boiled for three to five minutes, or roasted at 425 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

To dress up salads, shred raw carrots and mix in with greens before dressing. Cut into sticks and serve raw, or boil for one to two minutes to enhance the color and flavor. The sweetness of carrots also lends itself to breads, cakes and muffins; don't forget the cream cheese frosting!

Buying Tip: Look for firm, smooth flesh, plumpness and a bright orange color. To store, keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. If the leafy green tops are still attached, remove them, as they'll leach moisture from the carrots.

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Butternut Squash
This squash has a sweet, nutty flavor that's similar to, though a bit milder than, pumpkin. Like pumpkin, it's also quite versatile, lending itself well to a variety of cooking methods.

Butternut is great in soups and stews, boiled and mashed like potatoes or roasted. If boiling, peel, cut into bite-sized chunks and cook for seven to nine minutes. To roast, cut in half lengthwise, drizzle with olive oil and salt, and place in a 400 degree oven for 30-45 minutes, or until fork-tender. Scoop out the seeds either before or after roasting.

The sweetness of the squash goes well with butter, cinnamon, brown sugar and nutmeg, and offers a pleasing contrast to stronger spices like ginger, sage, cumin and cardamom.

Buying Tip: Make sure it's firm, unblemished, and feels heavy for its size. Because it has such a thick skin, this squash can be stored for up to a month in a cool, dry place before using. If it's been cut, raw butternut squash will last in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic for up to five days.

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Sweet Potatoes
Not only do sweet potatoes possess a sweet, almost decadent flavor, but they're also one of the most nutritious vegetables out there. High in fiber, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium, they're a practically a meal in themselves.

Sweet potatoes are best boiled for 30-40 minutes and mashed, or baked for about one hour. If mashed, serve with butter. If baked, season with cinnamon, ginger or nutmeg. Black beans are also a surprising complement to sweet potatoes.

Buying Tip: Look for firm, smooth skin, a uniform color, and no blemishes. More delicate than russet potatoes, they also don't keep as long. Keep them in a paper bag in a cool, dry location, like a pantry or cellar, for up to one month.


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Broccoli
Like all cruciferous vegetables, broccoli has cancer-fighting properties and is also a pretty powerful antioxidant. It's also pretty tasty when done right.

It's certainly edible raw, but broccoli has a little less bite if boiled for one to two minutes in salted water and cooled before adding to salads or crudités. Steaming takes about five to seven minutes, and boiling, half that time. If using the stalks, peel, cut into bite-sized pieces, and add two to three minutes to the cooking time.

Fun Fact: Broccoli originated in Italy, where it was called broccolo, which means shoot or stalk.

Buying Tip: Look for tight, firm stems and dark green heads. Yellowing and a strong smell are two good giveaways that it's past its prime. To store, keep it in the crisper in a plastic bag for three to five days.

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Cauliflower
Cauliflower, another cruciferous vegetable, looks a lot like broccoli but has a creamier, nuttier flavor. Packed with antioxidants and anti-cancer properties, it's nutritious as well as tasty.

Cauliflower can be served raw, but its flavor is less bitter when cooked. If serving with crudités, it's best to boil it briefly (one to two minutes) and then cool first to mellow the flavor. Cauliflower florets can be steamed for seven to nine minutes, or boiled for three to five minutes. Its nuttiness is best enhanced by drizzling the florets with olive oil, sprinkling with sea salt, and roasting in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, until tender and starting to brown. Like broccoli stems, cauliflower stems are also edible. Discard the core, which can be bitter, and add about five minutes to the florets' cooking time.

Buying Tip: Look for firm, compact, white heads with no brown spots, and bright green leaves. Store it in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic, for up to one week.

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Bok Choy
Bok Choy is a member of the cabbage family, typically used in Asian cuisine. It's the backbone of kimchi, a Korean spicy fermented vegetable dish, but it's tasty in Western dishes as well.

Separate the stalks and the leaves, as the stalks take longer to cook. Bok choy is most commonly added to stir fries. The stalks will take about five minutes over high heat, and the leaves should be cooked until just wilted and bright green, about two minutes. Stalks will take about four minutes to boil and six minutes to steam; the leaves will take two to three minutes each.

Bok choy is best with Asian flavors -- ginger, soy and sesame oil are a few of the best. If incorporating boy choy into Western dishes, use it the same way you'd use any other type of cabbage.

Buying Tip:Look for firm stalks with brightly colored green leaves. To store, keep in a plastic bag in refrigerator for up to two days.

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Brussels Sprouts
As members of the cruciferous family, these tiny cabbages share the cancer-and-free-radical fighting properties of broccoli. That's a great reason to turn kids (and everyone else) onto the nutty, earthy flavor.

To prep Brussels sprouts, cut off the base and discard any leaves that come off with it. They can be steamed for 20-30 minutes, boiled for 15-20 or sliced thinly and sautéed as a side dish or tossed in stews, soups or pasta. Toss in olive oil and sea salt and roast for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees for simply perfect sprouts. They're a perfect side dish for macaroni and cheese on a cool night.

Buying Tip: Look for firm, tight, bright green leaves with no brown spots. Store in the refrigerator for three to five days.

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Collard Greens
A staple of Southern cooking, collards are packed with flavor and nutrients. Unlike most vegetables, the vitamins and minerals present in this leafy green are more available to the body after cooking, as the dense leaves are difficult to digest raw.

Many Southerners would argue that there's only one way to cook collards -- simmered slowly with a ham hock or salt pork until soft. They're wonderful that way, but the method is not for everyone, especially vegetarians. Leaves can be boiled until tender, about 30 minutes, or sautéed in olive oil with garlic and onion until tender, 15-20 minutes. As a general rule, though, the longer they're cooked, the better; the pungent flavor mellows with time.

Buying Tip: Look for crisp leaves with a deep green color and no strong odor. Keep them refrigerated in a plastic bag for three to five days.


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Celery Root (Celeriac)
It's knobby, bulbous and an unappealing color, but don't skip over it at the grocery store. The pungent flavor, a favorite of the French, is a mix of celery and parsley.

Ambitious cooks can try whipping up a celery remoulade, which stars celery root. First-timers, though, should stick to an easier preparation. Once trimmed and peeled, celery root can be cut into bite-sized pieces and prepared the same way as any other root vegetable. Boil for 15-20 minutes, steam for 10-12, or roast in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Add it to soups or stews, or puree and serve like mashed potatoes.

Buying Tip: Look for a firm texture and hard roots, and heaviness. If the leaves are attached, they should be fresh and green. To store, trim off the excess roots and keep in the refrigerator.

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Rachel Been