Roasted Vegetables

I do this with potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnips. I just use olive oil, salt and pepper for seasonings but Rosemary and Thyme would go well with this mix. I think butternut squash would work fine in that mix too. I would skip the celery. I have tried onions but my family likes it better without them. My 2 and 4 year old will eat this happily! My son likes just the beets roasted by themselves. This recipe is very easy but do plan some chopping time because it takes a while.

I like rosemary and garlic with mine. I'm not sure about celery - I've never tried that, but all root vegi's that are cut into similar sized cubes will roast evenly. I'd worry that the celery wouldn't turn out because it is so different from the root vegi's.

Yes to olive oil. I'd take all the cubed root vegi's, place them in a large bowl, drizzle with oil, salt and add rosemary and thyme and minced garlic, and probably fresh cracked pepper too. Then I roast at about 425 degrees for about a half an hour to 45 minutes. Stir a few times while roasting. Try to put them on a roasting sheet large enough so that you have just one layer of vegi's. Use a few trays if you are feeding a crowd.

J.

I would suggest similar vegetables, like sturdy root vegetables (potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes). Celery can be roasted but it's so different in cellular structure to the other vegetables; I'd leave it out of this combination. Celery would be nice with onions, tomatoes and summer squash or zucchini.

3 important things: enough heat, enough room and consistent sizes. You want a hot pre-heated oven (425 degrees) and a large jelly roll type pan that the vegetables will fit on in a single layer. And they need to be cut into the same size pieces so they'll cook at the same rate.

Toss all the cut-up vegetables in a large bowl with just enough olive oil to lightly coat them. They shouldn't be dripping in oil, and you don't want so much oil that it's pooling at the bottom of the bowl. Salt and freshly ground black pepper are all you need at the beginning. Taste a raw vegetable for salt and pepper and add more if necessary. Don't be too skimpy on the seasoning.

Roast them until they're very tender and quite golden brown. Stir them around a couple of times during the roasting so all sides get brown. The nice caramel color will mean they'll taste delicious. When they're done and still very hot, sprinkle over them: a couple of tablespoons of finely chopped thyme leaves and oregano leaves (fresh), and just a spritz (a half teaspoon or a teaspoon) of good quality red wine vinegar. Toss everything together.

all together tossed in extra virgin olive oil (evoo), rosmary, sage, thyme should be good with salt/pepper (sea salt and cracked is best) the size will help you even the cooking time ... celery larger chunks same with onions the rest smaller would be best 350 for 40ish min
other options of spices drop the herbs and replace it with cumin and allspice sauteed minced garlic salt/pepper (sea/cracked).
cracked pepper if you do not have a mill ... pepper corns and a large heavy pan, hold the handle of the pan in towards your body place the pan at an angle (45 degrees round about) and use the flat part of the pan with your other hand placing the pressure on the pepper and do so until the size you want them to be. good luck ...
Asparagus and brussel sprouts would be a good addition to that mix!

I do potatoes, celery, carrots and onions, with olive oil, with rosemary, garlic and sea salt and fresh cracked pepper and it is amazing! I do it the same way that Jess described.

Not sure about the parsnips/turnips and butternut squash, if they are cut into even sized pieces they should be fine, though last time I cooked parsnips they didn't turn out right.

Awesome advice so far!

I'd like to add that I roast asparagus and that is requested annually at Thanksgiving. I also do baby portabella mushrooms. These do
not take as long as the root veggies. Maybe 10-15 min or so. Just listen for the EVOO to sizzle.

Happy eating!

epicurious.com has the best recipes with clear instructions. type in 'roasted vegetables' in their search function and you will have several choices. Here is one recipe they offered. You can substitute veggies. Mostly you want things similar sizes so they cook evenly.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Root...

Elena's instructions would have been mine. Any and all combos of what you're roasting sound perfect, but I'd keep the celery out.

I keep it incredibly simple -- drizzle olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss them a couple of times while cooking, and midway through I sometimes add a splash of chicken broth or water if things are looking too dry. I usually use carrots, potatoes, onions and smashed garlic cloves, but have recently started adding halves of brussel sprouts (something I refused to eat for almost 40 years-LOL), and oh my goodness they come out fabulous!

Make sure you make enough because in all seriousness, three of us fight over an 11x17 pan of roasted veggies. :)

Merry Christmas!

I throw mine in alltogether, and then melt butter and pour it over them with garlic, pepper, parsley flakes, and onion powder. It turns out really yummy.
Or if you prefer, sometimes I pour and roast them in broth. Both ways pretty tasty and very easy.