Prep time: 15 minutes /Cook time: Varies/Total Time: Varies

You’ll start noticing that my recipes usually have a few more steps and a little more combining ingredients toward the end of the process. For instance, I’ll caramelize mushrooms for risotto and fold them in at the end instead of adding the mushrooms to cook with the rice. While this may cause a few more dirty dishes, I’m a big believer in texture and cooking veggies with different methods really allows you to explore mouth feel, crunch, etc.

Roasting is a great way to cook veggies, it can bring out a lot of different flavor tones and gives you opportunities to build complementary flavors and textures within the same dish or with each bite.

What you’ll need:

Vegetables (about 2-3 lbs for an uncrowded baking sheet)

A preheated 400 degree oven

Baking sheet

Parchment Paper

Your nose and your eyes

When roasting veggies of any kind make sure to cut them in relatively consistent sizes and if you’re roasting different types of veg, make sure they have about the same density and water content…roasting carrots and potatoes together is gonna be fine, roasting zucchini with turnips is going to be a mixed-up watery mess.

Note: if you’re not comfortable using parchment at higher temps, please use a silicone mat…foil tends to stick and will rip off that nice crispy caramelization.

The spice palate is going to depend on what you’re trying to achieve. For example, if I’m roasting potatoes for a snack or a side, I’m going toss them with olive oil, S&P, a little Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and some paprika, before I lay them out on the parchment…if I’m adding roasted cauliflower to a curry recipe, I’ll spice that a little differently and use a neutral flavored oil.

In the pictures I’ve posted here, I was clearing out my fridge. I had some big loose beets, some aging carrots, and a random head of cauliflower. I broke apart the cauliflower and peeled and cut the beets and carrots, tossed them with EVOO, S&P, garlic powder, oregano, and dill and stuck them in the oven for about an hour and 15 minutes.

Your senses will tell you when they’re done! You’ll smell the warmth and goodness of roasted vegetables and you’ll see the edges getting crispy and browned without even opening the oven. I don’t recommend a lot of flipping and tossing because part of the joy from roasting is you get some different textures and flavors that come about naturally, but rotate the baking sheet in the oven about 3 times throughout the process.

Happy Roasting!