Roasted Vegetables
This is my go-to food year-round. I just change up the veggies by season. Preparation is nearly the same for all; I switch spices depending on my mood and the vegetables, and the cooking duration depends the size of the vegetables.
A platter roasted veggies with avocado dip drizzled on.
Ingredients
Any combination of the following vegetables
broccolini (my very favorite)
Sweet potatoes (recommend a mix such as purple japanese varieties)
asparagus
green beans
cauliflower (pick a few different colors if you can find them)
carrots (prefer thin smaller ones, and all colors are good)
eggplant
sweet white or red onio
Salt and extra virgin olive oil
Zest of lemon, optional
Hot honey, optional
Spices Optional: Harissa, Ras el Hout, Zatar, Paprika, Cumin
Add more salt and pepper to taste once roasted
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees, turn on convection if you have it
Rinse and trim veggies. Don’t peel, those peels are great for you.
Cut into bite size or serving size pieces. You will want uniform sizes, but can have two or three different sizes, if you are willing to cook two or three different trays. I usually do 3 at a time. These keep great in the refrigerator for a week!
Place veggies in a single layer with spacing between on a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place vegetables of the same size on the same pan. You can do multiple trays depending on how many racks you have in the oven and the number of veggies you have.
Toss veggies on each tray with a few tablespoons of evoo and a large pinch of salt, and any other spices you choose to use (see notes before) Make sure all coated.
Rearrange again into a single layer with some space between.
Roast for approximately 15 min; check every five minutes and rotate pans while cooking. Remove from the oven when there are signs of char on the veggies and they are still al dente but cooked.
Notes
Eggplant requires an extra step. Slice about 1/2 “ thick and salt lightly, let sit for at least 30 minutes (up to an hour or so), flip and repeat. Wipe off moisture with a paper towel and brush evoo, salt and spice mix on one side of the eggplant; proceed with recipe as above.
Cut sweet potatoes into hash like sizes (1/2” cubes, or my preference, like like steak fries)
Cut large carrots in half or quarters.
Cauliflower, carrots, eggplant and sweet potatoes can really benefit from spices, cumin, paprika, harissa, zatar are all excellent choices.
Asparagus, green beans, and brocollini need very little - a bit of lemon zest and salt might be enough.
A drizzle of hot honey is a nice touch.
A must to serve all with the avocado goddess dip (see recipe)
A sampling of veggies roasted just out of the oven.
