Charred edges, crunchy, colorful, sweet, fresh flavor, full of vitamins, fiber rich, equally tasty at room temperature or hot; if there is a better side dish than roasted veggies, I don't know what it would be. Sometimes I roast a single kind of vegetable, but most often, it is a medley, customized to my liking and what looks fresh in the grocery store.
In my humble opinion, there are just a few important factors to ensure the perfect platter of roasted vegetables. First, whatever veggies you chose, they all need to be cut into pieces of similar size; this assures that they will all be baked to perfection in the same amount of time. I like a size of 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Second, do not overcrowd the baking sheets; this will cause the vegetables to steam, rather than roast. Next, always use a high temperature for roasting; I usually have my oven set on convection bake 400. Finally, do not skimp on seasoning; coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper really do make a difference.
You can roast about any vegetable combination that you choose. I have featured some of my favorites. I generally keep potatoes separate. When I roast spuds, I like to do a trio of potato cubes: sweet, white and new red. (Peel the sweet, but leave the skins on the rest). Sprinkling the potatoes with chopped, fresh rosemary before baking is a wonderful addition. When I add asparagus to a veggie combination, I add it half way through the baking, since it does not need as long to roast. When I do brussel sprouts by themselves, I add a spoonful of bacon grease along with the olive oil (southern cooks keep a little jar of bacon grease in their frig for occasions such as this). Several years ago when we hosted 50+ of my family members for Thanksgiving, I roasted brussel sprouts with a bit of bacon grease for the big feast. The little green cabbages were gone before everyone had even filled their first plate! They are addictive.
My big brother and nieces digging into the Thanksgiving feast, and there are those bacon flavored, roasted brussel sprouts!
Roasted Vegetables
Cut up enough veggies of your choosing to create a single layer on two 10 x 15 sheet pans
Preheat the oven to convection bake 400 (if you use regular bake, increase the temperature to 425)
Place the vegetables in a large bowl and drizzle with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil and toss to coat
Sprinkle the veggies with a generous amount of coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper; toss
Place the empty sheet pans in the hot oven for 3-5 minutes to preheat
Remove pans from the oven and divide the vegetables between the two. The heat will cause them to start sizzling immediately, helping form that desirable char. Place back into the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes, stirring half way. The vegetables are done when they have some dark, charred spots on them, but are still a bit firm. Remove the pans from the oven and sprinkle with a bit more coarse sea salt. Help yourself to guilt free seconds!
