Roasted Vegetables with Pecan Gremolata

I picked up the recipe for Roasted Vegetables with Pecan Gremolata from my mom's November 2006 issue of Bon Appétit. It was definitely a surprise hit! My family is a proud clan of meat-eaters, so I almost always expect to have massive amounts of my veggie dishes left over after the party. But people really enjoyed this dish, and (unfortunately for me) there was hardly any left once the guests were through with it. People who didn't even know what a parsnip or a turnip was, liked it! If I had known, I probably would have doubled the recipe--it was just THAT good :)

The only significant change I made to the recipe was that I omitted the Parmesan cheese from the gremolata, since I'm still a few days away from finishing my 3-month no booze, cheese, or pasta challenge. If I were making this at my own house, I may have subbed vegan parm, but alas my mom didn't have any! It was perfectly fine without it, though.

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Roasted Vegetables with Pecan Gremolata
Yield: Makes 8 servings

1 pound medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, then crosswise
1 pound medium parsnips, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise
1 pound turnips, peeled, halved, cut into 1-inch-thick wedges
1 1/4 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3/4 cup pecans
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 ounce)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
1 small garlic clove, minced


Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss carrots, parsnips, turnips, and brussels sprouts in large bowl with 3 tablespoons oil. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until vegetables are tender, tossing often, about 1 hour. [This only took about 25-30 minutes in my mom's convection oven. So in that case, the indicated timing was way off.] Transfer vegetables to large platter; cool.

Using on/off turns, chop pecans in processor until coarsely ground. Transfer ground pecans to small bowl; stir in grated cheese, parsley, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, lemon peel, garlic, and 1 tablespoon oil. Season gremolata to taste with salt. Drizzle vegetables with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Sprinkle gremolata over vegetables just before serving.

Bon Appétit, November 2006