During our recent heat spell when it was hot and smokey, I barely cooked all week. It left me with a lot of vegetables that looked a little...meh? I little floppy, wrinkly, and kind of on the edge. When the fog came back, I did a big batch of roasted vegetables to clear some space in my fridge, use up my veggies, and now I have a fridge full of prepared food to complement dinners, add zing to my salads, and help with the afternoon snacks.
This particular roast-a-thon included: cauliflour with the end of a bag of baby carrots, zucchini with a handful of wrinkled cherry tomatoes, and beets. For the beets, I steam them whole in a lidded oven-safe (pyrex) bowl with an inch of water. Since I was on a roll, I stove-top braised beet greens followed by fresh spinach that was on it's last day of fridge life. I try to maximize my oven and will roast vegetables when I cook a pizza for the kids.
I am a big fan of the non-recipe-recipe, but here's some guidance:
- Heat oven to 425°F
- Chop vegetables to roughly the same size
- Add plenty of olive oil and mix vegetables until coated.
- Add salt, pepper and herbs of choice, if desired.
- Consider red pepper flakes (leftover from your take-out pizza?)
- Whole cloves of garlic
- Half a lemon, cut side down, to squeeze on top after (especially delicious on brocolli or cauliflower)
- Dry or fresh herbs of your choice
- Roast until the vegetables are tender enough to pierce with a fork and you see some charred bits on the edges.
Resource:
The Kitchn has recommendations on roasting times and other tips, such as vegetable pairings.
Related: Sheet Pan Meal
