“For anyone who appreciates fine ingredients, takes pleasure in cooking,
and enjoys the way cooking and eating engage our senses, this very simple
dish will have extraordinary appeal. I find it a pleasure to tend the vege-
tables as they roast, turning them over gently in the warm olive oil and
watching them soften, give up their sweet juices, and turn golden. It is
a delight to toss the fresh basil leaves into the casserole and breathe in
their heady aroma. And it is a treat to savor these vegetables, caramel
brown, naturally sweet, and oven-tender. This is a family-and-friends
dish, made more inviting when you set out a bottle of olive oil, a bowl
of salt, and a few wedges of lemon and encourage everyone around the
table to finish the dish to their own taste.”

Makes 4 servings

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
8 small turnips, peeled and trimmed
8 small to medium fingerling potatoes, washed
8 small carrots, peeled and trimmed
8 cipollini onions, peeled and trimmed
8 medium white mushrooms,
stemmed and cleaned
8 medium pink radishes, washed,
dried and trimmed
2 to 3 stalks celery, peeled and cut
into eight 3-inch pieces
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
Bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 1 sprig thyme, and
the reserved basil stems – from below – tied
together with kitchen twine)
1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds, tied in cheesecloth
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup Niçoise olives
1/2 bunch basil, washed, dried, and stems and leaves
separated (stems used for the bouquet garni)
1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
Fleur de sel or lightly crushed coarse sea salt
Grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a shallow casserole or oven-
proof sauté pan over medium heat. Add the turnips, potatoes,
and carrots and cook, turning frequently, for 8 to 10 minutes, or
until the vegetables take on a little color. Add the remaining oil,
the onions, mushrooms, radishes, celery, garlic, bouquet garni,
and coriander sachet. Season well with salt and pepper and cook,
stirring, for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the newly added vege-
tables are also lightly and evenly browned.
3. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, stirring
two or three times during this period, until the vegetables test tender
when pierced with a knife. Remove the pan from the oven, discard
the garlic, bouquet garni, and coriander sachet, and stir in the olives
and half the basil leaves.

To serve: Scatter the remaining basil leaves over the vegetables - don’t
stir them in - and bring the casserole to the table. Serve the oven-roasted
vegetables and their cooking juices directly from the pan. Offer the lemon,
fleur de sel or coarse salt, pepper and olive oil at the table and, if desired,
top each serving with some grated cheese.

To drink:  A light, crisp unoaked Chardonnay

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