orange-scented roasted root vegetables

Leo and I had lots of carrots, turnips, onions, and some sweet potato to use up before our vacation, so we looked for a root vegetable recipe. This one knocked our socks off tonight with chicken piccata, some roasted green beans, and viognier.

Orange-Scented Roasted Root Vegetables This no-fuss side dish roasts while you're tending to the rest of the meal.

4 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato (we had 2 cups)
3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled rutabaga (we used 1 1/2 cups of turnips)
2 cups (1-inch) sliced parsnip (we used 2 1/2 cups of carrots)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (we used grapeseed)
2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges
Cooking spray (we omitted this)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange marmalade (because we were out of orange marmalade, we used the last of the Navarro vineyards cranberry pinot noir wine jelly that Diana L. sent us. We also added 1 TBSP orange zest to give it an orange aroma)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon sweet honey mustard (we used organic yellow mustard and added honey)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (we forgot this)
Dash of ground nutmeg (we forgot this)

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl; toss. Arrange vegetables in a single layer in a shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 45 minutes; stir twice.

Combine sugar and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 1 minute. Pour over vegetables; toss gently. Bake an additional 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Yield: 7 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

CALORIES 229 (11% from fat); FAT 2.8g (sat 0.5g,mono 0.7g,poly 1.1g); IRON 1.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 84mg; CARBOHYDRATE 50.7g; SODIUM 148mg; PROTEIN 3g; FIBER 4.9g

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 1997