One-Pot Wonders

Jerry Traunfeld's Root Ribbons with Sage

by:
February 17, 2012
4.5
2 Ratings
Jerry Traunfeld's Root Ribbons with Sage
Photo by Joseph De Leo
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

Jerry Traunfeld -- award-winning chef at The Herbfarm near Seattle for 17 years -- cooks wisps of root vegetables together, briefly and with restraint, so they stay full of life and sweetness. Note: Before you commit to ribboning a full batch, you should be on good terms with your vegetable peeler (or mandoline) -- or you can always halve the batch or enlist a friend. Adapted slightly from The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor (William Morrow, 2005) —Genius Recipes

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds medium root vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, burdock, rutabagas, yams, parsley root, or salsify (avoid beets)
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped sage
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Directions
  1. Wash and peel the roots and discard the peelings. Continue to peel the vegetables from their tops to the root tips to produce ribbons, rotating the roots on their axis a quarter turn after each strip is peeled, until you're left with cores that are too small to work with. (You can snack on these or save them for stock.) Alternately, you may use a mandoline.
  2. Melt the butter with the sage in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir for a minute to partially cook the sage. Add the root ribbons and toss them with tongs until they begin to wilt. Add the salt, a good grinding of black pepper, the maple syrup, lemon juice, and about 3/4 cup of water.
  3. Continue to cook the vegetables over medium heat, turning them with tongs every minute or so, until all the liquid boils away and the ribbons are glazed and tender, about 10 minutes total. Serve right away, or cool and reheat in the sklllet when ready to serve.
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11 Reviews

Juliebell
Juliebell November 5, 2017
This is a lovely salad. I did try golden beets and they worked fine. I think my veg were done in about 8 minutes. Thanks for this wonderful fall salad.
 
Jules S.
Jules S. March 10, 2017
I am eating this right now, so delicious. I cooked Bulgur and added it into the pan, mixing it up, so also the Bulgur would get some butter. Also I added some garlic. Super. Keeps well, too, because I did it yesterday, and its even better heated up again, today.
 
Natalie
Natalie December 4, 2015
It's simple dishes like this one that are the best highlighting delicious fresh ingredients. Loved it!
 
liz O.
liz O. March 19, 2015
Sur la Table sells an inexpensive veggie pasta maker that works great for this type of dish. Also makes veggies a bit more enticing to children!
 
Kate Z.
Kate Z. January 4, 2015
I made this lovely dish after reading the article "Curried Cauliflower Soup + Root Ribbons with Sage" for Meatless Mondays. I paired it with the curried cauliflower soup as suggested and added toasted French baguette slices. It was a dynamite winter time dinner and my husband (a serious meat eater from England) was more than happy to take a night off.
 
Julie W.
Julie W. November 25, 2014
Yay - this is what I need to use up all those root vegetables that I have no idea what to do with and don't really love ( ie turnips , rutabaga etc). Can I use celery root ?
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. November 25, 2014
Yes you can!
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx
sexyLAMBCHOPx February 11, 2013
such a delicious and easy side dish for many proteins. Love the recipe.
 
ChefFace
ChefFace January 23, 2013
YUM! This is happening this weekend, loving the simplicity
 
Em B.
Em B. October 12, 2012
Made this for thanksgiving this past weekend, and while it was delicious, I think I'll wait to make it again until I can pawn off the peeling to someone else.
 
Fig A.
Fig A. June 25, 2012
I made this for my mom's birthday. It was a hit.