Wine Pairing: Roasted Veggies with a Bechamel Sauce and Marsanne Roussanne
I cannot get enough of roasted root vegetables. I could eat them every night. Roasting is one of the easiest, most magical ways to prepare vegetables.
Hot out of the oven, they are crispy salty sweet treats. Left overs? Roasted veggies are perfect for a colorful hearty salad the next day. You can't go wrong. Think of these veggies as more diversified french fries.
When cooked at a high enough temperature, the naturally occurring sugar in the root veggies will caramelize. Vinegar will amplify these flavors bringing out a slightly nutty taste. Serve alongside a cream sauce, and pair with a dry, nutty, white wine such as Unionville Vineyards’ Marsanne Roussanne and you are in for a real treat!
ROASTED ROOT VEGGIES WITH BECHAMEL SAUCE
ingredients
total time: 1 hr yield: 4-6 servings
- 2-3 purple potatoes; diced into cubes
- 2 sweet potatoes; diced into cubes
- 4 parsnips; diced into cubes
- 3 turnips; diced into cubes
- 4 beets, diced into cubes
- 5 carrots; diced into cubes
- 2 onions; quartered
- 3 cloves of garlic; minced
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- preheat oven to 400F.
- I prefer to eat the skins of my root veggies, if you do not like the skins feel free to peel them - if not just make sure you give them a good rinse and maybe a little scrub to make sure you get all the dirt off. Cut off the tops and bottoms and dice into bite sized cubes.
- Add olive oil, vinegar, and the diced vegetables, except the onions and garlic, into a large mixing bowl. Top with a generous pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper.
- Toss the vegetables, sometimes this is easier to do with another bowl on top, until they are evenly coated in olive oil and seasoning
- Place vegetables onto a roasting pan and place the pan in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes. You do not want the vegetables to be too close to one another or they will steam instead of roast. If you find that your veggies look cramped, use two pans instead of one!
- Check the oven a few times throughout the cooking process to shake the pan and make sure no one is sticking.
- When the vegetables look almost done - around 25-30 minutes of cooking, add the onions and garlic and shake the pan well to incorporate them. Continue cooking until the onions are nice and wilted about 15 more minutes.
- Serve as a side dish with Honey Roasted Chicken and a glass of Unionville Vineyards’ Marsanne Roussanne.
- If you are serving immediately, top with a bechamel sauce. If these crispy morsels stay in the bechamel sauce for too long, they will get a little soft. If in doubt, serve the sauce alongside for dipping!
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Desk or vineyard? This is the question I asked myself when making the leap of faith to leave my corporate life behind to pursue my passion for wine. After working in the medical communications space for 10 years, 2022 was the year of epiphany. It may sound old fashion, but I did have a major realization in the beginning of the new year that I was not meant to work behind a desk and chug along doing work that I was no longer passionate about.
My first notion of my interest of wine came during my frequent business trips to Boston about 4 years ago. For the first time I was immersing myself in the world of wine through client dinners, networking events and a lot of self-exploring through Beantown. During this time was my first encounter with sommeliers and wine experts. I was fascinated and intrigued by the expertise knowledge of wine, wine making and learning about the intricacies that goes into producing a bottle of wine. At this moment, I thought about how amazing it was to witness such passion for the craft of wine.
I enrolled in an online sommelier level one course at the Wine School of Philadelphia and began studying and reading everything I could about wine. This is where my 2nd major epiphany happened – I asked myself, the question that I stated in the beginning “desk or vineyard?”
This is the question that started the major stepping stone to my journey. I no longer wanted my wine passion to be in the background – I wanted to be 100% committed and both feet in. Unionville Vineyards was the first winery that popped into my head when I thought about making my “9:00- 5:00” switch. I attended a wedding at Unionville the year prior and loved the atmosphere, the wine and the people. The position that I applied to was half farm work half hospitality. I was instantly attracted to the idea of being out in the field to where it all begins in wine making. Thoughts of my “office” transforming into the beautiful vineyard was something I desired. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Unionville has multiple vineyard sites with the Coventry site located within Coventry Farm in Princeton being my favorite (love the views there!) Working at the different sites allows you to see how the different micro climates, soil and land impact the vines and fruit cluster growth. Also working in the field to me was the perfect learning opportunity to understand the craft of wine making soup to nuts. Being surrounded by vines that produced grapes such as Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chardonnay was eye opening to me. I was so used to seeing the finished product of these grape varietals in their bottled form, but actually being able to perform farming techniques on the vines starts to create another level of perspective and appreciation for wine.
One of my favorite farming tasks to perform in the field on the vines is leaf pulling. Leaf pulling is when you remove leaves from around the fruit clusters. The rule of thumb is to remove leaves that are across and below from the fruit cluster. Removing the leaves creates oxygen flow, openness for pesticides to be sprayed and exposes the fruit to more sunlight. I enjoy seeing the satisfying result of a perfectly balanced vine with the right number of leaves removed. Working in the field creates a huge bond between you and your other field peers. You become a family unit and learn how to work together and communicate as a team. To me, this is a very important factor for having a successful vineyard. My experience with people at Unionville in general has been amazing. You have the opportunity to interact with people from all different backgrounds (teachers, college, corporate, etc.) which makes for some great conversations and comradery.
To anyone reading this, do not be afraid to follow your passion and take a chance on doing what you want to ensure your happiness. It was scary to make such a drastic shift from corporate to farm work, especially since the two are extremely opposite ends of the spectrum, but I have no regrets and I am happy with where my career and focus is going.
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