Roasted veggies, the simplest of sides
Do you ever read a recipe and wonder why it even needs to be written out so explicitly? I mean, some recipes look more like common sense than actual recipes.
I came across one recently while hunting for a new side dish to fix for an early Mother’s Day supper with my lovely mom. The recipe, called summer vegetable bake, came from a cookbook called “Vegetables on the Side” by Sallie Y. Williams (which I highly recommend).
It called for potatoes, zucchini, onions and tomatoes cut into chunks, tossed with olive oil, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, salt and pepper and then roasted in the oven. I skipped the tomatoes because they aren’t in season and instead got a couple handfuls of fresh green beans. I chose red potatoes, picked some rosemary and thyme from my herb garden, and added a few cloves of garlic to the mix. Voila! It was a huge hit, and it was so easy it was almost ridiculous.
But this got me thinking that I don’t roast vegetables enough. Recently, we talked about that roasted broccoli recipe from the Barefoot Contessa. I have always loved to roast winter squash and asparagus, and a few years ago I discovered the wonders of roasted Brussels sprouts.
It strikes me that one could cube all sorts of vegetables – whatever is in season or on hand – and toss them together for a mixed vegetable bake. Turnips, beets, cauliflower, carrots, parsnips, peppers, tender-skinned squash, whole mushrooms and sweet potatoes are all options, and I’m sure I’m forgetting something. Different herbs and seasonings can be used to achieve varied results.
Roasted vegetables are such a basic concept, but the result has such wonderful texture and flavor. In addition, adding potatoes to the dish provides a starch, so you can get away with only preparing this one side dish and everybody’s satisfied. It’s healthy, too, if you use a heart-smart oil such as olive or canola.
How often do you roast vegetables? What are your favorite vegetables to roast?
May 4, 2011 - 6:42 AM
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With the food allergies we have to deal with, we’ve found an easy side dish to make that really is easy, and good. Basically, we take frozen veggies (don’t have fresh from the garden, yet), and either sauté them or wrap them in foil and grill them.
In a skillet, we put a little bit of canola oil (have yet to allergen test olive oil), then put in about equal parts of cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots, with some pearl onions…and we’ve also added some chopped spinach and fresh diced potatoes too. To that, we sprinkle a little bit of Himalayan salt, and sauté over medium heat until everything is cooked and has a nice roasted color on parts of it. We turn that onto a plate and serve with whatever meat I’ve prepared, which has generally consisted of boneless/skinless chicken on the grill, or a small lean sirloin steak off the grill. We’ve also taken the Perdue thin-sliced chicken breasts and cut them into strips and made a stir-fry of sorts with the veggies…cooking the chicken first, then tossing it in with the veggies to finish (don’t want any salmonella potential).
I roast veggies often because as you mentioned it is very easy. My favorite is a recipe from weight watchers that includes fennel. I add what ever veggies I have on hand but try to always include sweet bell pepper and fresh asparagus. The recipe includes a mixture of olive oil, balsimic vinegar, and dijon mustard that you toss the veggies in before roasting YUM
Karen, that sounds delicious. Fennel is another great one.
OJ, the Irish lass in me is so happy that you guys can still eat potatoes. What would you DO without them?
I love fennel…it roasts beautifully. In my garden is a bunch of fennel I started as seeds and it now has that fennelly fluffy top. I have no idea how long I need to wait before the bulbs are big enough, but I cant wait to try different ways of preparing it.
I love roasting vegetables in the oven, and do it as often as I can. I think it really brings out the flavor in the veggies. My go-to favorites are red & green peppers, carrots, yellow squash and potatoes. I usually just toss with some olive oil and salt and pepper. Yum!
I tried four times to ‘match’ the ridiculous captcha code to post a comment. This one may or may not go through, but hear me, Roanoke Times – YOUR PAPER IS ALREADY LOSING MONEY AND YOUR WEBSITE DOESN’T DRAW ENOUGH HITS BECAUSE IT IS BORING AND TOO DIFFICULT & ANTIQUATED TO NAVIGATE. NOW YOU’LL LOSE MORE CUSTOMERS BECAUSE OF THIS!
Anybody that cares from the RT is welcome to e-mail me…
Well Lindsey, my wife and I are both heavily Irish and German…we’d be at a complete loss without our beloved spuds. For us, potatoes and chicken are the 2 most versatile foods we have…we can do a lot with them, and we do…especially since it’s on our safe list. Now we just need to develop a gluten-free potato gnocchi. I’ve found some recipes for regular gnocchi with high-gluten flour, so we may just wind up experimenting to get it right.
Your comment went through, Abdnva.
I apologize for the difficulty. We have added the captcha code in an attempt to limit spam comments. Also, we hope it will prevent legitimate comments made by readers who work behind corporate firewalls from being categorized as spam by accident. So really, this should be a positive development for readers. But I will pass your complaint along to our online team right away.
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OJ – thanks for sharing a some great ideas for frozen veggies! Often, I just steam them in the microwave or make a stir fry, which gets quite old.
My favorite is yellow squash, zuchini, asparagus, red onion and mushrooms, tossed with olive oil. I use different herbs and seasonings, alway trying some different combination, but always include red pepper flakes. Oh, I cook it on the grill, in one of those grill baskets that looks like a frying pan.
I tried that roast broccoli recipe a couple weeks ago and it was delicious. I’d never thought of grilling frozen veg…great idea! Also the basket thingy…I usually stick them on kebabs.
I haven’t had a lot of success roasting veggies.. But I will tell you, I really would love to know how to copy the roasted root veggies I ate at Montano’s a few years ago during winter time.. I’m not even sure what was in them (Parsnips I am sure of)but that stuff was crazy awesome
I’ve long been a fan of roasted vegetables; I use any that are in season, with olive oil, garlic and fresh herbs, sometimes a touch of balsamic vinegar, a bit of sea salt and freshly ground pepper (from Penzey’s Spices, the Tellicherry black pepper is best). Have you ever tried roasting radishes? Surprisingly, when roasted (or sauteed) they take on a wonderously nutty and mild flavor-they’re really tasty.
My favorite is cauliflour, tossed with olive oil, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, a sprinkling of some fancy cheese and roasted. Works well with frozen cauliflour or fresh.
I love roasted veggies with a littke olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
No problem, Lori! When we cook them on the grill, we basically do the same thing, but wrap them in foil and put them over an area of low heat to avoid burning them. The bit of smok flavoring they get off the grill adds a nice touch. Either method works for adding some flavor to what would otherwise be fairly bland, in my opinion anyway. But we do steam a lot of things too.
We have a good grilled veggie dish I’ve written about before. My husband introduced me to it. We just butter a big sheet of tin foil, line the bottom with thinly sliced potatoes, then add a layer of chopped potatoes and dump a bag of mixed, frozen veggies on top (any kind). Top with another piece of foil and crimp the edges very tightly. This packet slides nicely from a cookie sheet onto the grill. When it “Jiffy pops,” or puffs up, it’s time to throw on the meat.
Near the end, slice open the top and cover it all with cheese.
I’ve recently tried this recipe for roasted cauliflower and it is awesome. Probably my favorite way to eat cauliflower now.
In general I love roasted veggies and usually have some as a side 1-2 times a week.
Lindsey – apologies for freaking out, when I complain about the website, it is roanoke.com, not this blog. It is extremely frustrating to operate in the manner it does, I’ll say that. The hurdles to responsive conversation take the pleasure from posting.
One note, though. My original comment did not go through, at least I don’t see it above anywhere. It doesn’t matter now, though…
I’ve come to appreciate the Mexican style of dry roasting vegetables in a cast iron skillet on the stove. Onions and peppers, especially, take on a whole new dimension of flavor.
We roast veggies about 3-4 times a week, usually using what is fresh from my vegetable and herb gardens or what is in season that I can get organic at the farmer’s market. I never thought to really use the frozen veggies, but I guess in some instances they are fresher than the non organic produce that is shipped from overseas b/c the frozen ones are flash frozen. Will have to try it!
Let me clarify something regarding our veggie pouch: When it Jiffy pops, it’s time for the steak. Something like a pork loin may take a little longer and you may wanna throw it on sooner.
On my lunch break today, I bought a head of cauliflower to roast tomorrow night. It’s $2.50 per head, which is not a bad price these days for that.
It’s OK, abdnva. I get frustrated by computer issues all the time. I’d still like to hear your thoughts on roasted veggies if you care to share.
Thanks for calling me lovely! The grilled veggies were awesome. And as for the CAPTCHA code, being a computer tech myself, I can understand the reasons for it. A minor annoyance we find everywhere now, especially banking sites.
Well, you ARE lovely, Mom! Happy Mother’s Day!
We have roasted veggies 3 to 4 times a week. One of our favorites is roasted cauliflower, fresh or frozen, tossed with olive oil and, believe it or not, original Mrs. Dash. I also prepare different veggies with different fresh herbs from our herb garden. My husband’s two favorites are a combo of russet and sweet potato chunks and wedges of butternut squash. The squash works better if you cut it into wedges, salt it, then put into paper towel lined containers the day before roasting to remove some of the water. The day you roast them, toss with a little veggie oil before putting them into the oven.