Rooted

PalmCuriosity has been a driving force that has sustained both humans and animals. The need to understand the environment and everything within it has served as an antidote to hunger. For us, it's easy now; we have almost everything at our fingertips. We can even buy peeled oranges, neatly packaged in plastic, ready to eat. I often think of that first person who put a vegetable in their mouth—a few leaves, a piece of fruit. Some of those early experiences resulted in indigestion and unpleasantness. Let's imagine, for a moment, someone plucking unfamiliar leaves sprouting from the earth, a bunch that will drag along fleshy, living roots. And how, after that first taste of earthy sweetness, they will raise their arm in victory, exclaiming in a fervent thought that they will never go hungry again.

Edible roots are one of the oldest and most fundamental food groups in the human diet. This underground part of the plant has served us for millennia as a source of energy and as a basis for many traditional cuisines. They are classified as bulbs (onions, garlic), tubers (potato), corms (water lilies), rhizomes (ginger, turmeric), true roots (carrot, parsnip, turnip, radish), and tuberous roots (sweet potato). Roots are very versatile; they can be roasted, boiled, fermented, fried, or eaten raw. Furthermore, many of them acquire sweetness and depth of flavor with heat (like carrots or beets), making them ideal ingredients for winter dishes. In our gastronomy, they have been important as a base for cooking broths and sofritos, although, on occasion, we have the opportunity to discover them as the main protagonists of the dish. The first roots

It is believed that the first carrot seeds were introduced from al-Andalus to the rest of Europe between the 8th and 10th centuries by Arab merchants traveling the Mediterranean trade routes. These early roots were purple, whitish, or red until around the 15th century, when the orange variety we know today was selected.

Regarding our environment, the carrot appears as a main ingredient in two recipes from Third book of things made from herbs or of herbs that should be given in collations, from the recipe book Art of cooking by Friar Francisco Roger (Menorca, 18th century). One of the descriptions is of a carrot baker; the other tells us about fried carrots, which are lightly boiled, fried in flour, and served with sugar. The author indicates that, once cooked, they can also be mashed and made into raolas (a type of flatbread). Another noteworthy recipe is carrots in hollandaise sauce. De re Cibaria (1923) by Pedro Ballester, a dish brought from more distant lands, transmitted by sailors who wintered in Menorca. To cook them, a sofrito is made to which pig's ear or trotter and a large quantity of carrots and potatoes are added, left to simmer until everything is well cooked. In reality, it is a version of HutspotA very traditional Dutch winter dish consisting of stewed meat served with mashed potatoes and carrots, as well as fried onions.

In Mallorca, we find the first recipe for carrots in the Llabrés Recipe Book (19th century). A very interesting and sophisticated formula called carrots in the menu (sic). In this case, they are cut into thin slices and boiled. Once drained and cooled, croquette paste is placed between two pieces of carrot, coated, and fried. However, fried carrots or safarnarias will be the most popular way to consume them, accompanied by other vegetables such as cauliflower, artichokes, and wedges, among others. Also with tuna belly steak, blood sausage, and sobrasada.

Other edible roots present in our cookbooks will be beets from Llabrés Recipe BookThese are boiled and served with lentils or beans and tomato sauce. Or there are the turnips in egg sauce from the Squella family's traditional Menorcan recipe book. The turnips are boiled and then sautéed, followed by water, parsley, lemon juice, and an egg sauce (mayonnaise), which should be added very carefully so it doesn't separate.

For today's recipe, I followed the instructions from the baker at Fray Roger's. In my case, I also used parsnips. I hope you enjoy it.