FALL MIXED VEGETABLE SIDE DISH

Side dish - Vegetarian and vegan - Lactose and gluten free

I love vegetables and I love to eat seasonal ones. I prepare a similar mixed dish, all summertime, with eggplant zucchini and other... (recipe here, video here); I decided I wanted to try a fall version and came up with this one. DISCLAIMER: it's a rather sweet dish (read footnotes), but I absolutely LOVE the sweet-savory contrast so here it is.

1 small sweet potato
1 medium-big baking potato
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 big onion
8 oz baby bella mushrooms
1/3 butternut squash
Chopped fresh parsley, sage, oregano, thyme (1 tbsp TOTAL)
1/2 galic clove, chopped
Nutmeg
Italian extra virgin olive oil
Italian sea salt


First of all, prepare the flavored oil: mix all herbs and garlic with 1/4 cup olive oil, let it marinate during the preparation of ingredients.

Peel and cube (sides about 1") both potatoes, carrot and onion; cut celery about same size.

In a wide saucepan (or skillet) with lid, over medium-high heat, warm up the herb-oil mix and sautee briefly (1-2 minutes), then stir in the prepared vegetables; lower heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, whil you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Clean and cut the mushrooms in half (or in 3-4 pieces, depending on their sizes), peel and cube the butternut squash.

Stir mushrooms and squash in the pan with the other vegetables, season with salt and a little nutmeg and cover with the lid. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until you reach your desired doneness.

This recipe serves 4-6

- Try to cut all the vegetable about same size: this way, cooking will be more even.
- You can substitute the fresh herbs, if not available, with a high quality Italian infused extra virgin olive oil (like the ones we have in stock); you could also use dried herbs, adjusting the quantities, since they are more flavorful than the fresh ones.
- This is a rather "sweet" side dish; you may want to play with herbs and non-sweet ingredients, to counter that sweetnes, if you don't like it too much.
- It's vegetarian, vegan, lactose and gluten free.