Let's Eat!
Ingredients
Preparation
I roast veggies almost every day. It is so easy. Most can be roasted on a sheet pan at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. It depends on the firmness and the size you cut them. For example, tomato slices cook pretty fast but butternut squash needs to be chopped small so it won’t take as long to roast. I have roasted, butternut squash, zucchini and summer squash, tomatoes (slices and cherry/grape), broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, onions and shallots, green beans, eggplant, mushrooms, asparagus, potatoes, carrots, corn, brussels sprouts, turnips, and leeks… I think that is it...for now. This list will not end here!
Pre-heat your oven and put the empty sheet pan in the oven to heat up. The pan will be hot when you add your veggies and allow for a golden brown sear (that's yummy). Chop your veggies during the pre-heat. In a bowl toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper until coated. Feel free to consider other herbs and spices. Garlic is always welcome in my house. Two options: whole garlic is delicious when roasted. It sweetens up and is great to spread on a crostini, or save to use in another recipe. Garlic powder is tasty and we all have it on hand.
Carefully spread the coated veggies on hot pan in a single layer and roast for 15-20 mins. Check for doneness based on soft/firmness or your personal tastes. The amazing part of the is process is that you can make the rest of the meal during the 20 min they are cooking! A healthy meal is never that far away. Steak, chicken, hamburgers, pasta, etc., everything goes with a side of veggies! I always make extra for lunch and other meals during the week. Also, if you have veggies in the fridge that are losing their battle with time, put them all on the pan and roast together. You will be extending their life. Eat what you want right away and pack the rest for lunch tomorrow. If you want dinner to be even easier and add some flavor to the veggies, add your meat to the sheet pan. Obviously, this will add cooking time but not by much, usually 25-30 works for small single layers of meat. I use, chicken, meatballs and sausages. Have a meat thermometer near by and do a check at the 25 min mark.
Your roasted veggies can be used to make sauces. When they come out of the oven drop them into your blender or Vitamix and pulse until you have the desired consistency. If needed, add stock or milk/cream with additional herbs and spices. You now have a homemade sauce for pasta, meat, pizza and more!