During the months when the produce aisle seems a bit bare (no locally grown tomatoes or piles of fresh corn in sight), take advantage of the ever-growing variety of root vegetables that are showing up everywhere.

Rough, rustic, and roasted, the root vegetables featured in this dish are filling, comforting, and nutritious.

Beets might not be much to look at. But beneath their dull, rather unassuming exteriors lie sweet, tender jewels full of buttery flavor and a wealth of nutrients. Fresh beets possess a taste and texture that canned ones just can't match, and they come with a bonus -- savory greens.

Jicama, a type of root vegetable at its peak in late fall through early spring, makes a great stand-in for more traditional water chestnuts, giving the dish a nice crunchy element. Eat this dish on its own or with a little steamed brown rice.

These two cabbage cousins offer an interesting twist on the traditional coleslaw. Kohlrabi makes a great addition to stir-fries, while turnips, when pureed with a little butter, serve as an excellent side dish. Saute the greens as you would kale or spinach.

If you haven't roasted beets before, you're in for a treat. Although they take a bit more time, it's well worth it: Roasting intensifies their sweet, earthy flavor.

Peel away the tough exterior of a rutabaga to discover a hearty, firm flesh that's tasty and filling. In addition to this light potato salad, add rutabagas to rustic vegetable soups, or roast them along with other root vegetables, such as carrots, turnips, and parsnips.

Rubbing roasted beets with paper towels is the easiest way to remove their skins.

A surprisingly good source of vitamin C, raw parsnips have slightly more of the antioxidant than their cooked counterparts.

This dish combines golden beets, salmon, and turkey bacon.

One measure of a healthy menu is a palette of colors. Salads don't get much more colorful than this one, which features yellow and red baby beets and sugar snap peas lightly tossed in vinaigrette.

A healthier, more flavorful alternative to heavy, sauce-laden coleslaw.

The smaller the golden beet, the more tender -- and they are best eaten raw. A mandoline or Japanese vegetable slicer is essential for cutting the beets as thin as possible. Of course, red, pink, white, and the two-toned Chioggia are perfectly acceptable here as well.

It is much healthier, and just as flavorful, to wilt the spinach in a salad with a warm beet -- instead of hot bacon -- dressing.

Pliable rice-paper wrappers envelop six vegetables (and countless nutrients). The sauce supplies a tingling jolt of ginger and vinegar.

Asian-inspired pickled beets are soaked in ginger-charged vinegar.

This simple soup delivers beet roots along with their healthful, satisfying greens. A touch of earthy, aromatic spices, such as coriander and cumin, sets off the sweetness of the beets.

Beets give a dramatic hue to a brown-rice salad, which is sprinkled with goat cheese, pine nuts, and parsley.