Roasted vegetables are pleasurable to eat. Full of depth and flavour, it makes the perfect side dish from your usual steam veggies. Serve it with whole grain or alongside poultry, beef or fish. It’s a side dish that pairs with anything. You’ll be surprised that kids love it too and it’s a great way to get them to eat their greens.
Roasting vegetables in the oven caramelize it while keeping the insides moist and tender. However, not all vegetables are created equal. Before you heat up your oven, make sure you are choosing the right veggies for roasting to achieve delicious results. Choose hearty root vegetables like onions, potatoes, carrots, beets, winter squash, parsnips and leeks. These veggies take longer time to cook so cook them later before you add other veggies that require shorter cooking time. You can add cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli and mushrooms then.
Roast the veggies in a roasting pan that’s large enough to hold all in one layer. Layer the pan with foil to make clean up easier. Do not crowd your veggies as it will end up being steamed instead of roasted. Preheat your oven at 230°C and cook them until they caramelize on the outside.
The basic seasonings for roast veggies are oil, salt and pepper. There are, however, other seasonings you can add to make it more flavourful. Add them before or after roasting to intensify the flavours of the veggies.
- Flavoured oil – instead of olive oil, try flavoured oil like garlic, nut, coconut or avocado oil. Or drizzle roasted sesame oil after roasting for a unique nutty flavour.
- Citrus – perk up your roasted veggies with the zest and juice of limes, lemons or oranges. Add them after cooking to add that punch.
- Cheese – cheese-up your veggies with finely grated Parmesan during the final few minutes of roasting to let the cheese melt. Or just crumble salty feta or tangy goat cheese over the vegetables before serving. So good!
- Glaze-it – Adding honey or maple syrup to your veggies before roasting will give it a beautiful, shiny glaze and flavour too.
- Bacon – Mix chopped beef bacon into your veggies together and roast. The bacon fat helps the veggies brown and add a delightful flavour to it.
Now that you know the basics of roasting vegetables, here’s an easy recipe to try.
Ingredients:
- Your choice of vegetables like broccoli, zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Italian seasoning (optional)
- Lemon (optional)
Method:
- Chop the veggies into bite sizes
- Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and garlic and toss until all vegetables are coated.
- Spread evenly on a baking tray (except tomatoes) and roast for 15 minutes
- If you are adding tomatoes, remove the tray from the oven and add the tomatoes in and toss. Spread it all evenly
- Continue to roast another 10 minutes or until veggies are tender.