Culinary Experimentation: Roasted Winter Veggies and Cous Cous Salad

One of my new year's resolutions was to experiment with new recipes and new ingredients. Tonight was one of my first culinary experiments of the new year. I did some pan-roasted winter veggies and a cous cous salad--sounds classy, right? Surprisingly, both of these are pretty simple.

These are great vegetarian meals that make use of some ingredients I have little to no experience with, including: cous cous (a Mediterranean pasta that looks like pasta and rice had tiny tiny babies), parsnips (like a milder, white carrot), and golden beets (I opted for golden over normal ruby beets because I heard a rumor that they are sweeter). Though I'm not a vegetarian, I tend to not buy meat when I'm at school to save money. Also, when you're cooking for one, sometimes meat doesn't keep in the fridge long enough to eat it all. So I'm always looking for some meat-free recipes to make at school, and these are a couple of winners!

On to the experiments...

Pan-Roasted Winter Vegetables

Ingredients:
1 large parsnip
3 golden beets
8-9 red potatoes
About a dozen baby carrots
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Give the carrots and potatoes a good wash. Cut each carrot in half lengthwise (careful with the knife!) and each potato into fourths. Toss them onto a lined sheet pan and proceed to the more exotic root vegetables...

Holy beets!

2. Peel the parsnip and beets. As you whip out that knife to chop them up, be advised: these are some tough little veggies. Use extra caution as you try to get all the pieces about equal sizes. Add them to your pan.

How pretty are those colors?

3. Season generously with salt and pepper, and coat with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Toss everything together with your hands and pop in a 400 degree oven for 45-60 minutes. Make sure to check up on them every so often and give them a stir. You'll know they're ready to go when everybody starts to get a little color and are fork-tender.

Warning: this will make your house smell very cozy. 

Cous Cous Salad

Ingredients:
1 box of cous cous
3/4 cup lemon juice
Olive oil
2 chicken bouillon cubes
3/4 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped thyme
1/4 cup of craisins
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Prepare the cous cous according to box directions. For the whole box, I used two cups of water and an equal amount of bouillon cubes. Also add in 1/4 cup lemon juice and a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Once the cous cous is cooked, let it stand while you prepare the dressing.
2. For the dressing, combine all your herbs, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Mix thoroughly and pour over the cous cous. Add in the craisins last (for a little color and sweetness) and toss well. This salad can be served warm, room temp, or cold.

The perfect side for the veggies...or anything, really.

Both of these experiments turned out delicious. And pretty inexpensive, too. In the spirit of experimentation and science and data and all that, I ran the numbers on how much these dishes cost per serving (assuming that I always have salt and pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice on hand...which I do). The results? $1.12 per serving for the roasted veggies, $1.16 for the cous cous salad. That's college-budget friendly!

So get creative with some new recipes in the new year! Feel free to leave any scientific discoveries in the comments.