RECIPE: Roast vegetables
By learning how to roast one type of meat or vegetable, you can roast anything, as the principle is the same (with variations in details). The method of roasting uses dry heat from an oven, giving a delicious flavour to the food, by browning the ingredient that is cooking.
Any leftover roasted vegetables can be served cold or at room temperature as a great salad.
Roasting vegetables: basic principles
• Coat the vegetables to be roasted with flavouring, e.g. garlic and/or herbs.
• Baste with oil, where appropriate, or a marinade.
• Season well with salt and pepper.
• Place in a very hot oven and cook until crisp, turning if necessary to achieve good colour on all sides.
Roast vegetables
Feeds 6-8 / Freezer Friendly
Ingredients
225g / ½ lb carrots, peeled
225g / ½ lb onions, peeled
225g / ½ lb turnips, peeled
225g / ½ lb beetroot, peeled
225g / ½ lb sweet potato, peeled
1 × small celeriac, peeled
225g / ½ lb new potatoes
1 small garlic bulb, peeled
4 tablespoons olive oil
a very generous sprinkling of herbs such as rosemary, oregano or thyme (fresh or dried)
salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 220ºC / 425ºF.
2. Peel all the vegetables apart from the new potatoes and cut into large chunks of a similar size.
3. Place them in a large roasting tin, ensuring that they are only one layer deep and that they are not squashed into the tin, otherwise they will stew rather than bake and crisp well.
4. Either slice the garlic finely over the vegetables or scatter the cloves
between the vegetables.
5. Pour over the oil and, using your hands, mix together well and then spread out evenly in tin.
6. Season with the herbs, salt and pepper.
7. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour, turning a couple of times until tender and browned.
Rosalind’s tip
1. Other vegetables that work well in this recipe include parsnips, swede, Jerusalem artichokes and squash or pumpkin.
