Roasted Vegetables

Recipe from Mollie Katzen’s Vegetable Heaven.

• The dry, high heat of the roasting process causes the vegetables to cook from their own inner moisture, intensifying their flavor, and enhancing their natural, rich sweetness.
• Trendy though roasting is, it’s actually quite simple. Just cut your favorite vegetables into big careless pieces (or leave some whole) and lightly coat them with olive oil and spread them out on an oiled tray. Place the tray in the oven and basically leave it alone while you do other things anywhere from 5-30 minutes.
• Olive oil is the best for roasting vegetables. Try using the olive oil in a “Mistro” container or use Olive Oil PAM to coat the vegetables for roasting.
• Serve roasted vegetables plain or with a splash of vinegar (try balsamic, sherry, or other flavored vinegars). Try swirling them in balsamic drizzle (see below). You can also add cloves of garlic, or dried and/or minced fresh herbs. If you add fresh herbs, sprinkle them on during the last 5 minutes of roasting.
• When roasting vegetables, remember that the vegetables will shrink during the roasting process, so plan accordingly!

Roasted asparagus or mushroooms

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Lightly coat the asparagus and/or whole mushrooms with olive oil.
3. Roast for 5-10 minutes, or until just tender. Asparagus cooks very fast, so keep an eye on it. In just a few minutes, it can go from too crunchy to too soft. Naturally, you want it somewhere in between.
4. Salt lightly while still hot and serve.

roasted cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage or Brussels sprouts

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Lightly coat the vegetables with olive oil on a tray.
3. Turn vegetables halfway through their cooking process (see below) to ensure even roasting.
4. Salt lightly while still hot and serve.

Roasted carrots

Cut larger carrots into 2-inch lengths and leave baby carrots whole, and roast for 30 minutes or until done to your liking.

Roasted cauliflower

Break into 1-1/2 inch florets, and roast for about 15 minutes.

Roasted broccoli

Cut into 2-inch chunks and roast for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the pieces.

Roasted cabbage

Surprisingly sweet! Cut into 2-inch wedges and roast for about 20 minutes.

Roasted Brussels sprouts

Leave smaller ones whole, cut large ones in half. Roast for 15-20 minutes depending on the size.

Balsamic drizzle

from Mollie Katzen’s Vegetable Heaven

This recipe is excellent drizzled over any roasted vegetables. You don’t need to use an expensive brand balsamic vinegar for this recipe. In fact, the ordinary, more moderately priced supermarket varieties work the best. Store balsamic drizzle in a coverred container in the refridgerator or at room temperature. Theoretically, it will keep forever, but undoubtedly you will use it up sooner than that.

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1. Place the vinegar in a small saucepan and heat to boiling. You might want to open your kitchen windows. This gives off strong fumes!
2. Turn the heat way down and simmer uncovered for 30 or so minutes, or until vinegar is reduced in volume by about half. Transfer to a bowl, cover tightly and store indefinitely at room temperature.

Note: if it becomes too thick after storing, yout can loosen it up by heating it briefly in a microwave.

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