Chances are, you feel like you should be eating more vegetables. It would be so easy if only they were more “ready to eat” when you were. Roasting vegetables is fast and easy, and a great way to entice your family into eating some new things, as well as some things they normally wouldn’t. You can make any vegetable suddenly seem more exciting with a little oven bronzing. When you are hungry or tired, having to wash and cut a raw vegetable seems like too much effort. A roasted one is more like fast food, and the possibilities are endless.
You can roast almost any vegetable, either individually or in little groups. I like to roast mushrooms with asparagus or zucchini. Sometimes I will add bell pepper, onion, or garlic. I love roasted broccolini, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts, but usually roast these on their own. You can roast vegetables in a large oven safe dish and then take them right to the table to serve, or you can do like I often do and use a large baking sheet lined with foil and save yourself some clean up. Vegetables roasted in a baking dish will yield a bit softer results, because the high sides will make your vegetables steam more. The baking sheet will yield crisper results.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Start by lightly coating the surface of your baking pan with olive oil. I keep a silicone brush in a canning jar filled with a little olive oil on my counter. This is so much better than using aerosol sprays that contain propellants, and the olive oil is good for you.
No matter what you are roasting, you want to be sure your vegetables are clean, so give them a good rinsing and shake off the excess water. If your vegetable needs to be cut, keep all the pieces the same size so that they will all cook evenly, then spread them out on your baking surface being careful not to overcrowd.
Drizzle with a little bit more olive oil, keeping it light because you really don’t need all that much. Put in oven and set timer for 35 minutes. Peek in from time to time to see if your vegetables are browning. You will want to stir once or twice, maybe even three times. You might also want to rotate the pan. Cook for approximately 35-45 minutes, but as always, you should check throughout and stop when you feel your vegetables have reached the desired level of doneness. Finish vegetables with a sprinkling of sea salt and some fresh ground pepper.
Note:
A toaster oven or small countertop oven works great for roasting smaller batches of vegetables, but you may want to adjust the cooking temperature. I get good results at 380 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. You can also try roasting your vegetables with coconut oil for another healthy option. Refrigerate your leftovers in a small glass dish or ziplock bag for quick use.
Things to do with roasted vegetables:
– add to soup or salad
– mix into cold or hot pasta
– add to cold sandwiches or use for panini
– puree into a dip, or puree and thin with broth to make a soup
– add to grains with leftover cooked meat for a healthy, quick lunch or dinner
Donna Ferguson
I love to cook, garden, and write about all the things in Vancouver and the Northwest that make life so great.