Summers bounty of vegetables are everywhere right now. Here’s a great way to prepare some of your favorites in a way that just about anyone will love….even that person that doesn’t normally eat a lot of vegetables. Roasting vegetables in the oven just brings about a whole different level of flavors and, this quick and simple recipe can be used as a main dish or as a side dish to just about any meal.
Roasted Vegetables Recipe:
You’ll find a printable recipe at the bottom.
I must admit that I’ve never been a really big fan of vegetables…other than potatoes. Thus, I guess I’m really a meat and potatoes kind of guy.
This may change soon however since I’ve started roasting some vegetables in the oven. It’s so quick and easy to do and, it’s a great way to use up a few extra vegetables that might be hanging around the kitchen. You can use almost any type of vegetable…other than those leafy greens…for roasting. You don’t have to follow my recipe exactly, select a few of your own favorites and give them a try.
The basics are to just keep all the vegetables cut into pretty much the same sizes. Drizzle on a little Olive Oil…add a dash of Salt and, a little Black Pepper and…THAT’S IT. It just doesn’t get much simpler than that. Roasting time may vary depending on the vegetables you’re using so just remember to keep a close watch on them and not let them burn. You want them to caramelize a bit though…that’s where all the flavors come in.
If you cut them into smaller pieces, they will cook faster so keep that in mind as you’re slicing and dicing. And, you don’t have to use that really expensive Olive Oil that you have for your salads. Any good Olive Oil should do the trick.
I hope you’ll give them a try. You can probably turn those non-veggie eating folks around your home into veggie lovers. They’re just that good. Trust me….I almost ate the entire pan all by myself. I just made a complete meal out of them but, they’re a great side dish with just about anything. So….if you’re ready….Let’s Get Cooking!
Roasted Vegetables Recipe: You’ll need these ingredients…or…some variety of your personal favorites.
As we’ve mentioned, you can use almost any variety of your favorite vegetables to roast in the oven. This is just a quick look at how I’ve prepared the one’s that I had available. We’ll begin by peeling off the outer skin of 2 large onions. Then, cut the onions into about 8 good sized wedges. Toss them into a large bowl.
Shuck the corn and remove any of the “silk” that is left on it. A vegetable brush will come in handy to help remove them but, if you don’t have one, just go over each ear carefully and pick them off with your fingers.
I’ve sliced each ear into about 3 pieces. BE CAREFUL if you do this. The cobs are tough and you’ll need a good sharp knife to slice through them. I really can’t emphasize enough how careful you really need to be in doing this step.
Wash all the other vegetables, including the corn, under cool running water. Scrub them gently with your fingers to remove any dirt and dust. Farmer Bill told me what type of Zucchini this yellow one is but, I’m sorry…I forgot it’s name.
I just tossed the washed vegetables in my colander and let them drain for a couple of minutes.
For the Zucchini, I cut it into about 1 inch slices, then cut each of those slices in half.
New potatoes where cut into quarters if they were larger. Smaller ones were just cut into halves.
Then, I sliced the Summer Squash into about one inch thick slices….then cut it again into halves.
I sliced the Sweet Potato into about half inch thick slices. For variety…I left them in whole slices.
I cut the ends off the Bell Peppers. Then, I removed the middle parts with all the seeds by running a paring knife around the inside edges. The pepper was cut open into one long strip, then sliced into pieces about one inch wide. If you have them, a variety of red, green and yellow peppers will really look good in your dish. I only had green so that’s what I used.
I love Roma Tomatoes. I simply cut the vine end off of each one, then stood it on edge and sliced it into quarters.
Place the quartered tomatoes in a small bowl and drizzle them with a little Olive Oil. Set them aside for the time being.
I ended up with a large bowl filled with fresh from the garden vegetables. Ain’t they pretty?
The bowl was a little too full to stir so, I took about half of the vegetables and placed them in a plastic bag. Then, I poured one fourth cup of Olive Oil on top of them all. This is a quick and easy way to coat the vegetables….as long as the bag doesn’t have a hole in it. Just saying!
Then, I just twisted the top closed and started tossing all the vegetables around in the Olive Oil. Whether you just stir them in the bowl or, toss them around in a bag like me, you’ll want to make sure they get coated really well in the oil. Add a little more if you think they need it.
Spread the vegetables out in a single layer on a pan that has been lined with aluminum foil. Don’t pile them on top of each other. They need some breathing room as they cook.
It’s good if you have a cookie sheet or jelly roll type of pan that has a small outer rim to it. The big part of the flavor in roasting comes from the caramelization that forms on the bottom and edges of the vegetables as they cook. The aluminum foil will make clean up a snap so I highly recommend using it. You can thank me later.
Sprinkle on some black pepper then place the pan in a pre-heated oven.
Bake at 375º for about 20 minutes:
After 20 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and gently stir the vegetables around. Keep them in a single layer.
Add the slices of Roma Tomatoes to the pan and sprinkle it all with Sea Salt…or regular salt….whichever you have on hand.
Return to oven and Bake for an additional 10-20 minutes as needed until the vegetables are golden brown.
Serve them up as a side dish…or….just enjoy a delicious plate of roasted vegetables all by themselves. They’re best when served hot so, plan your meal accordingly and add them to the table at the last minute. They’ll keep warm in the oven if you turn it off but…be careful and don’t let them continue to cook as they might burn. And YES…even this guy that doesn’t normally like vegetables…ate “almost” this entire plate at one sitting. Just saying.
Enjoy!
